The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Judith Tshabalala, has reinforced government’s commitment to enhance the delivery of consistent and reliable water supply, as well as dignified sanitation facilities for all, as mandated by the constitution of South Africa.
Deputy Minister Tshabalala was speaking during a panel discussion themed: “Access to housing, water and sanitation as safeguards for human dignity and enjoyment of other rights,” which took place on the sidelines of the National Conference on Human Rights in South Africa hosted by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development on 18-20 March 2024 at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg.
Over the past 30 years, the Department of Water and Sanitation has developed and implemented various support programmes which have assisted various municipalities across the country to ensure the provision of basic human right services.
“To name but a few, those programmes include the Drop Report Certification Programmes, which are aimed at strengthening South Africa’s water quality monitoring system. The Blue Drop Report provides an assessment of drinking water quality, the No Drop Report focuses on water losses and non-revenue water in all municipalities in the country, as well as the Green Drop Report which focuses on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level,” said Deputy Minister Tshabalala.
She acknowledged that although much more still has to be done, the Department of Water and Sanitation continues to work collaboratively with all the spheres of government and its entities to ensure effective implementation of mega water and sanitation projects across the country.
“We manage two conditional grants, namely, Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) and Water Services Infrastructure Grant (WSIG), which are aimed at supporting municipalities to develop their water and sanitation infrastructure and to address backlogs of infrastructure and access to water services,” she said.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the Department is actively supporting the uMkhanyakude, uThukela, Amajuba, Ugu, uMzinyathi, King Cetswayo, uMgungudlovu, and uMsundizi municipalities to improve their water and sanitation services, with projects of approximately R2 billion in total. This involves funding of a range of infrastructure improvements projects as well as management support, drawing on the resources of the uMngeni-uThukela Water Board.
In Mpumalanga, the Department is coordinating the R2 billion Loskop Bulk Water Project to build a pipeline from the Loskop Dam to Thembisile Hani Local Municipality to enable more communities in that area to be provided with water. Meanwhile in the North West Province, there is the coordination of the R400 million Bulela Metsi programme to expedite and prioritize projects to improve the reliability of water supply across the province.
Deputy Minister Tshabalala joined several cabinet members who reflected on 30 years of South Africa’s transformation agenda and efforts towards promoting democracy, development and human rights. The National Conference on Human Rights was held under the theme: “Three Decades of Respect for and Promotion of Human Rights”.
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