Speaker, the ANC-led government is deeply concerned about the impact of climate change on South Africa; more accurately, the severe predictions on the reduction in rainfall and increase in droughts on the western side of the country.
The government feels that this will exacerbate water scarcity and have potentially devastating effects on agricultural production as well as on the survival of the Cape's floral kingdom and our country's priceless biodiversity.
Mpumalanga is already faced with vast water-related challenges such as pollution and lack of access to water resources by certain communities. As a result, last Tuesday, 6 October 2009, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs conducted a water indaba in Nelspruit with the purpose of tackling the immediate and long-term water problems affecting that province and to come up with a detailed action plan that would speed up the process of service delivery in the province.
Another important purpose of that water indaba was to get a comprehensive understanding of the challenges facing water supply and water management in the country, so as to come up with an integrated approach towards service delivery; hence the theme "Working together for water security and poverty alleviation".
The ANC-led government will continue to proactively build capacity and develop a comprehensive strategy to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change, including the roll out of basic services, infrastructure planning, agricultural diversity and water resource management. I thank you. [Applause.]