Call made for business to partner with government to develop innovative sanitation technologies
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) have made an impassionate plea to industry to help improve access to quality sanitation in South Africa.
Despite significant progress since 1994, sanitation in South Africa remains a huge challenge, particularly in rural and peri-urban environments, where many communities are still using pit latrines, for example, which pose health and safety risks.
Compounding the problem is water scarcity, which is becoming the biggest risk to development in Africa, with many countries water-stressed and forced to use low-quality water.
The department, the BMGF and the Water Research Commission (WRC) met industry in a workshop in Pretoria this morning, hoping to form partnerships that will bring lasting solutions to sanitation problems in the country through the South African Sanitation Technology Demonstration Programme (SASTEP).
The idea is to support the development of innovative and ground-breaking technologies to improve sanitation in South Africa, while creating a new sanitation market in the country.
SASTEP was launched in 2014 to promote research into new-generation sanitation solutions that are innovative, off-the-grid, and affordable to poor communities. The WRC is demonstrating innovative, new-generation sanitation technologies in some parts of the country, for example, in Indwe in the Eastern Cape, over 200 composting toilets, Earth Auger sanitation units, are being tested. Each unit cost about R7500 to install. The project has led to the creation of 30 local jobs.
Painting a picture of the need for proper sanitation all over the world, Dr Doulaye Konéof the BMGF said the flush toilet served only a third of the global population and it did not make sense to waste tons of water on flushing considering the current water shortages faced by the world.
"We cannot continue with solutions that waste precious resources. We know what the majority of people need and what should be done. We should not be debating this any further," Dr Konétold delegates.
According to Dr Koné, over 2 billion people all over the world still had no access to proper sanitation and no significant investment to improve sanitation and increase poor communities' access had been made in over 200 years.
He said the BMGF, as a charity organisation, was working with commercial partners who could pull together resources to deploy large-scale sanitation technology solutions to serve the most vulnerable populations around the world and reduce inequality.
Another important aspect of SASTEP, he said, was the potential for job creation by demonstrating sufficient confidence in the technologies to attract business and scale-up the application of these technologies.
Echoing similar sentiments, the DST's Deputy Director-General: Socio-economic Innovation Partnerships, Imraan Patel, said the Department's work was informed by the need to use science, technology and innovation to achieve inclusive development and strengthen local economic development.
Mr Patel said the focus was to make the most of any opportunity to improve the quality of life of all South Africans. SASTEP should lead to better human settlements, create local economic development opportunities, and make the DST a leader in the development of new sanitation technologies in the country.
"One other important objective is to build stronger links between government, the private sector and research institutions, where we can all take collective responsibility for creating growth," said Mr Patel.
Attending the event, Ms Sandia Pillay of SP Investment Holdings appealed to business to be prepared to walk the journey, saying that there were commercial opportunities to consume these technologies.
"Business needs to meet the innovation revolution [SASTEP] presents and start thinking out of the box, and stop focusing only on the commercial side of things while the ordinary man on the street is being deprived of his right to human dignity," said Ms Pillay.
Mr Rudy Roberts, CEO of an emerging water enterprise – Water Engineering and Pumping Technologies –agreed, saying it could not be business as usual," said Mr Roberts, who is already looking at investment opportunities with SASTEP.
Enquiries:
Veronica Mohapeloa
Cell: 082 882 3818
David Mandaha
Assistant Director: Media Relations
Department of Science and Technology
Tel: 012 843 6806
E-mail: David.Mandaha@dst.gov.za
