Scientists should play a prominent role in the water sector – says Deputy Minister Mahlobo
The Deputy of Minister of Water and Sanitation, Mr David Mahlobo has urged policy makers to put science at the center of policy formulations to make informed decisions that will propel the country to greater heights, thus improving the lives of the people for better.
Deputy Minister Mahlobo was speaking during opening of the 50th Congress of International Association of Hydrogeologists that is taking place on Tuesday, 19 to Friday, 22 September 2023 at Cape Town International Convention Centre.
He addressed a contingent of scientists, engineers, water managers and other professionals working in the fields of groundwater resource planning, management, and protection from across the globe.
He said a country that does not invest in science will perish and South Africa needs to improve on this aspect as there is a gap.
“As scientists and engineers gathered here, you need to make your mark and direct future policy positions of the water sector, particularly the use of groundwater as an alternate measure that will ensure universal access. We need you to guide us and take us to task to come up with policies that will get us into finding lasting and sustainable solutions to the water challenges around the globe,” he said.
Throwing a gauntlet to the delegates at the congress, Deputy Minister Mahlobo said the week-long convergence should not be just a talk shop, but brains trust that will wear their hearts to their sleeves and come up with solutions that will benefit generations to come.
Mahlobo reflected on South Africa’s progress in meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 6, saying the country has attained a lot in redressing the dignity of those previously unserved and further acknowledged that a lot still needed to be done. He said the country has achieved almost 90% of its target of ensuring access to water, and further said that access to water should have meaningful impact in terms of economic benefits to the country, food security, social and environmental benefits amongst other benefits.
“We still have enormous challenges in our country, such as assurance to water supply which has declined due to a number of factors. Communities can go for days on end without water supply, and this is caused by our neglect of operation and maintenance of our infrastructure. Because we have not invested in operations and maintenance, we are experiencing a lot of water losses in our system which is between 30% to 45%. The other challenge is the lack of investment in our infrastructure that matches the population growth and migration from other countries and people moving from rural to urban areas,” the Deputy Minister pointed out.
Reiterating interventions by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Deputy Minister Mahlobo said work was underway to ensure that more funds were sourced from the private sector and other private partners to build more infrastructure across the nine provinces.
In addition, he said the department was addressing the issue of skills’ shortages that has hindered the efficiency of the water sector to ensure that all systems function optimally, and communities have reliable and uninterrupted water supply.
Decrying the state of pollution of water resources, particularly groundwater, the Deputy Minister called on the department, as a regulator of the sector, to bite more and take to task all the mining companies that are degrading the quality of groundwater.
For more information, contact Wisane Mavasa, Spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation on 060 561 8935/ mavasaw@dws.gov.za
