Programme Director
Delegates from various countries
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen.
It is my honour to have been invited to participate in this annual conference and to be given the opportunity to make some few remarks. I am indeed grateful that in its 13th year, this annual conference continues to gather experts from all over the world and from various professions under one roof to continue to seek solutions to our common challenges pertaining to water and energy. I think it is this kind of dialogue that will help us share our knowledge with each other and unleash the potential we have to be more innovative in our endeavours to improve the lives of our people on the continent.
I must point out from the onset that water is a resource that needs to be managed correctly in order for it to impact positively in growing the economies of our countries in Africa. Our partnerships at local, national and international levels should help us intervene decisively to invest in our water resources and help manage our resources in a sustainable and equitable manner.
South Africa is the fourth largest country in Africa, with a surface area of over 1,2 million km2 and an estimated population of over 50 million. Our average rainfall is 450 mm per year, but can vary significantly from less than 100 mm along the west coast to more than 1,000 mm on the east coast and along the escarpment. In the interior, seasonal rivers generate 27 percent of the runoff from 54 percent of the surface area, while in the west 24 percent of the surface area is drained by episodic rivers without any significant contribution to the runoff. The natural mean annual runoff (MAR) is about 49,000 million m3 per year, of which only 27 percent is currently available as reliable yield.
South Africa’s existing water resource availability comprises 77 percent surface water, 9 percent groundwater and 14 percent re-use of return flows. But there is high temporal and spatial variation in rainfall and high evaporation. To complement these, we are beginning to explore desalination as another option for water source.
South Africa has initiated a comprehensive basic water services programme to provide effective, affordable and equitable water services to all its citizens. We have successfully achieved the MDG target of halving the proportion of people lacking access to safe water by 2015. The remaining challenge is to address the remaining people who still lack access to water supply, 64 % of whom live in rural settlements.
The government, through my department, is in charge of a number of public entities in the water sector and is accountable to Parliament for the performance of these entities. Oversight of the entities is exercised by the department. The 12 water boards constitute the majority of these entities and they are primarily focused on the delivery of bulk potable water services and bulk waste water in a regional context.
Water boards are therefore key strategic entities that have an important role to play in the socio economic development of the country. The principal customers of water boards are municipal Water Service Authorities which are responsible for delivery of water services at the local level and mining and other industries. In the past financial year, water boards generated R10,5 billion from water sales and invested R2,1 billion in infrastructure.
The other key institution is TCTA which is a multi disciplinary state owned entity specialising in project financing, implementation and liability management. The TCTA has gained and maintained market credibility that enables it to access off budget funding for projects at excellent rates. TCTA has raised over R20 billion to fund national water resource infrastructure in the country and these include the international Lesotho Highlands Project.
Therefore, as a country, South Africa has adopted and initiated a holistic and comprehensive approach towards financing of its water infrastructure and its associated management. The water investment framework and strategy addresses the total value chain of water infrastructure and the associated lifecycle management which includes operations, maintenance and water governance. It also covers the total water sector, encompassing all use sectors as well as enabling requirements such as information, research as well as skills and capacity building.
As a country, South Africa is a member of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), which recognises the importance of water as a catalyst for development and for the benefit of ordinary citizens.
As a member of the region, we recognise the fact that 70% of the Southern African fresh water resources are shared between two or more Member States in the region. It is for this reason that we support the region in its adoption of a series of regional enabling instruments to support the joint management and development of shared water resources, in particular, the Revised Protocol on Shared Watercourses. Furthermore, in South Africa, we share between 40-60% of our water resources with Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
In this regard, the Revised Protocol calls for the establishment of the shared water course agreements and shared watercourse institutions to facilitate and coordinate the joint management of shared watercourse. This is instrumental in promoting peace, and advancing water security and economic development in the region. Since the adoption of the Protocol, South Africa has also established the legal instruments and institutions such as the Orange Senqu Water Commission, Tripartite Permanent Technical Committee on Inco Maputo; and the Limpopo Shared Water Commission. The example of benefit of managing the water resource has resulted in South Africa and Lesotho signing a Treaty on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.
At the continental level, South Africa is a member of African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) where there is a vision to implement the African Water and Sanitation Agenda. The recent work of AMCOW with its partners was a Water Atlas. From the Atlas, it is clear that although Africa as a continent on the whole has adequate renewable water resources, the resource is unevenly distributed with abundance in some areas commonly referred to as “hopespots”, and scarcity in many more areas, the “hotspots”.
Only 3,8% of internal renewable water resources are exploited for agriculture, water supply, and industrial use. Hydropower development is equally extremely low with just about 7% of the continent’s potential developed. The continent’s per capita water exploitation is the lowest of the sub-regions of the world being just one-fourth of the global average. The statistics no doubt is a sad reflection of the low level exploitation and development of this vital resource in the region.
The strategic information provided in the atlas remains vital for the work of AMCOW as it seeks to provide the political platform for tackling these challenges. This is especially with regard to the implementation of the Africa Water Vision 2025 and the goals of the Sharm El Sheikh Declaration by the Excellency Heads of State and government in the region and other such declarations such as the eThekwini and Tunis declarations made by the AMCOW Governing Council.
However, the Africa Water is significant not only for Africa but for all our stakeholders worldwide who are concerned about the prudent use and management of the continent’s water resources. This is because one of the greatest challenges facing us in Africa is how to achieve an effective management of our water resources. So for policy makers, public private sector (PPP) investors and water operators, researchers, hydropower, agriculture and health specialists, environmentalists, water specialists and users, you will find the Water Atlas an invaluable information tool for decision making and implementation.
I want to repeat my clarion call for the same kind of effective collaboration with our national stakeholders: Water Utilities and our development partners must effectively mobilise towards achieving this stated work plan designed to actualise the Africa Water Vision 2025 and the Sharm El Sheikh Declaration.
South Africa is also a member of the African Forum for Utility Regulators (AFUR), which is an initiative of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) and was officially launched in November 2002 as a voluntary organisation of regulators on the continent.
AFUR aims to establish and foster co-operation amongst utility regulators on the African continent in support of Africa's growth and socio-economic development. Its primary focus is on issues pertaining to the regulation of infrastructure such as energy, communications, water and sanitation as well as transport sectors.
A key component of this initiative is the development and maintenance of a dynamic water financing model with associated investment opportunities for potential sponsors and the private sector.
African countries must work towards attracting financial commitment for water and sanitation infrastructure developments. A key principle of the investment strategy is to appreciate the present financial and economic climate. We have therefore adopted a “stretch our water, infrastructure and money” approach, prior to investment in new infrastructure. This includes investment in infrastructure asset management, operations and maintenance, water conservation programmes, effective and sustainable management, skills and capacity building as well as institutional solutions.
Key challenges facing South Africa and the developing world include the need to address social and environmental needs and developmental investment, which do not have direct economic return on investment but which are critical to development and stability. These include addressing equity goals, poverty eradication and enabling economic development as well as ecosystems protection. Investment in these social projects are not attractive to the private sector and requires special sponsorships and support. Another challenge is the lack of commitment and culture to invest in sustainable management and associated programmes.
The present water infrastructure investment requirement in South Africa is estimated at R670 billion or more over 10 years which equals R67 per annum. The present available funding is only about 50% of the requirement which implies an urgent need to double up the infrastructure investment. Not doing so will result in major social, economic and environmental impacts and risks. The social component or deficit is estimated at R17 billion. the remaining R16 billion must be addressed via effective cost recovery and financial management as well as private sector and loan financing.
High priority is given to the investment in institutional solutions, capacity and skills development as well as priority water programmes such as water conservation and demand management and ensuring access to basic services.
As Thomas Fuller said in 1 732 we never know the worth of water till the well is dry. I look forward to the day of African Renaissance, to the day when we shall truly value the worth of water, not because the wells are dry but because we now exploit, utilise and share our “Hopespots” in such a beneficial way that even our “Hotspots” are converted into economically viable “coolspots” which benefit ordinary citizens in our respective nations and communities.
I thank you.
