Hon Chair of the session, hon chairperson of the portfolio committee, Members of Parliament, board members and CEOs of public entities, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, and colleagues in the House, we are presenting our Budget Vote speech during an important month in the history of the development of our country and, indeed, our democratic society. The month of April is a month when we celebrate freedom and democracy in our country. In particular, this year, we are celebrating 17 years of the progress we are making in building one South African nation, united in its diversity. This is a society envisaged by those visionaries who many years ago, in 1955, declared that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white.
April is also historic in that it is the month in which we remember those gallant fighters of our liberation struggle, Chris Hani, Oliver Tambo and Solomon Kalushi Mahlangu, who passed on during this month. As we celebrate and remember these milestones in the history of our country, we must not lose sight of our historic mission: To build a united, democratic, nonracial, nonsexist and prosperous society.
We are presenting this budget on Water Affairs, fully aware of the responsibility that we carry as a department. Indeed, it is a responsibility to contribute to the national effort to build a more just and equal society, focused on the creation of more and sustainable decent job opportunities. This is the vision that our President, Jacob Zuma, so eloquently articulated during the state of the nation address this year.
Guided by this vision, we as the Department of Water Affairs during this financial year will work together with the people of South Africa to make more water available for economic growth and the creation of decent jobs, as the President has said.
As we stand here today to solicit, among other things, your endorsement and support of this Budget Vote of Water Affairs, the world's population stands at 6,8 billion and is increasing at about 83 million people every year. Just as alarming as this increasing rate is the rate at which natural resources, upon which all life depends, are dwindling. In our own country of about 50 million people, we are facing the challenge of freshwater scarcity, which is exacerbated by the growing demand for freshwater, the pollution of sources of water, wastage and unsustainable usage.
We have no option but to change our behaviour and attitudes towards water use as part of our ongoing endeavour to build sustainable livelihoods for the people. Indeed, if we do not change the way we use our water resources, our ability to meet the objectives of the New Growth Path, key among them being the creation of decent jobs, will not be achieved. Without water, we will struggle to meet the energy-generation capacity that we need for economic growth. Without water, the agricultural sector's ability to create jobs and provide food security for our country will be severely curtailed. The mines and factories that must contribute to economic growth and employment creation will not survive.
Therefore, we have a collective responsibility proactively to protect our water resources, to prevent them from being contaminated, and to use our water resources efficiently to ensure their sustainable availability for the benefit of all our people. One of the imperatives for economic growth and job creation is infrastructure development. In this regard, as a department, we are very proud of the work we are doing to improve water infrastructure in our country. You will be pleased to note that the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, TCTA, has procured funding in order to implement the Mokolo and Crocodile River West Water Augmentation Project, MCWAP, phases one and two, with a total cost of about R2 billion, in order to deliver water to Eskom's new Medupi Power Station and other industries in the area, as well as ensuring that we have water for domestic use in the Lephalale Local Municipality. About 75% of this phase will be funded by off-budget sources, while the remainder will come from our budget. We expect the first water delivery in 2014.
In KwaZulu-Natal on the Mooi River near Rosetta, we have already awarded a R2,2 billion contract for the construction of the 42 metre-high Spring Grove Dam with a storage capacity of 142 million cubic metres. Work will commence shortly and we expect the first water delivery in November next year.
In the same vein, we will be spending R91,2 million in this financial year to raise the Hazelmere Dam, in order to augment the water supply to Umgeni Water for treatment and supply purposes to the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast in the areas of Mdloti and Thukela.
The construction of the De Hoop Dam and its associated distribution systems to deliver water for domestic and agricultural use in the Greater Sekhukhune, Waterberg and Capricorn District Municipalities is on course. The estimated cost for completing the construction of the De Hoop Dam, which began in 2007, is approximately R3,1 billion. Of this amount, R2,1 billion had been spent up to the 2010-11 financial year, and R926 million will be spent over the next three years to complete the dam. The distribution network will be constructed concurrently with the completion of the dam.
This will deliver water for domestic use to a total of three million Limpopo residents. During this financial year, we will commission the construction of a water conveyance system from the Vaal Dam to Secunda to augment the water supply to Eskom power stations and Sasol. This comprises abstraction works, a storage reservoir, a high-lift pump station, and a 121- kilometre pipeline.
In addition to the infrastructure development that is currently under way, we are also finalising, planning and preparing for the construction of other dams and related infrastructure. We have to begin those plans now, even though we will be talking about implementation next year on some of them.
These include the completion of a water treatment works and bulk distribution system from Nandoni Dam in Limpopo - and we have to finish that pipeline and, indeed, it is just about to be completed. With regard to planning and preparing for the construction of other dams and related infrastructure, there is the construction of a pipeline from the Flag Boshielo Dam to Mokopane and nearby communities; the completion of feasibility studies and designs of the Umzimvubu and Foxwood Dams in the Eastern Cape; the construction of the bulk distribution pipelines and reticulation networks from the Jozini Dam in KwaZulu-Natal as well as the Groot Letaba Augmentation Project, consisting of the raising of the Tzaneen Dam, the finalisation of the plans of the construction of the N'wamitwa Dam and the associated water treatment plants and bulk distribution pipelines.
We are well advanced with negotiations for a joint agreement with the government of Lesotho for the implementation of the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, LHWP, which will augment the Vaal River system that supplies water to Gauteng and the surrounding areas. This is scheduled for completion in 2020 - long-term vision and planning.
All this work is intended to improve our water infrastructure in our country and is in line with our overall commitment to making sure that we grow our economy. South Africa is, arguably, a water-scarce country. It has low rainfall and has one of the lowest run-offs in the world. I must emphasise that this phenomenon is not unique to South Africa.
Some prophets of doom have sent the wrong signals in that Gauteng will run out of water by 2013, 2014 or 2015. As the Minister responsible for water, I want to assure the hon members and South African citizens that if we manage our water resources well and use water judiciously, there will be no imminent shortage of water. That we can do, I dare say.
Our current projections are that South Africa will, in all probability, exceed the limits of our economically usable land-based water resources by 2050. But our department is working on innovative measures to ensure that there will be clean water for human consumption and for future generations. We admit that there are real and significant challenges with regard to water management in our country. It is in this regard that we have already begun to think creatively about different ways of preserving and protecting this precious resource.
Factors such as climate change and the increasing population growth lead to an increase in water consumption and continue to be challenges. Educating the general public on water conservation continues to be highly imperative. Thus, we have begun with campaigns aimed at raising levels of awareness about water conservation and encouraging our communities to become leaders of a movement that will wage war against water wastage.
We have also begun engaging in the task of desalinating sea water into freshwater. We have already started this work in the Western Cape, and we intend doing this in other coastal towns to augment the water supply for domestic use. In December 2009, we completed a desalination plant in Sedgefield. In June last year, we completed a wastewater recycling facility in George. We have already secured the supply of water for the Eden District through desalinated water from the Mossel Bay, Sedgefield and Bitou plants.
Groundwater remains a very important source of water which has not been fully exploited by our country. I am pleased to announce that we have already started to implement a strategy aimed at exploiting our underground water resources. Elements of this strategy include training and supporting municipalities with groundwater management tools, publishing the National Groundwater Archive, NGA, and supporting municipalities with the implementation of artificial recharge, where feasible, to secure water for later use.
During this financial year, we will focus on the monitoring of groundwater resources, especially acid mine drainage, transboundary aquifer systems, climate variability and municipality systems. Collectively, these interventions will go a long way towards making more water available to allow our country to pursue the strategic objective of growing the economy and creating more jobs. We will also continue working with local government to assist them in dealing with the challenges related to water provision.
The bulk infrastructure programme we alluded to earlier, which is provided by our Department of Water Affairs, needs to be integrated with water infrastructure that is provided by the water services authorities, which are municipalities working under the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta.
The water services authorities have been experiencing difficulties in linking reticulation infrastructure to the bulk infrastructure. This challenge, in many instances, has left communities without water for household consumption while the pipelines pass though such communities. In reviewing this practice, which had unintended consequences, we have adopted a new approach of water provision with the concomitant infrastructure from "source to tap". This requires joint planning and execution similar to our approach during the Fifa World Cup. It is not difficult; it is doable.
This we will do to give practical meaning to our commitment to co-operative governance across all spheres of government. Specifically, we will continue to work with municipalities to address challenges, such as effluent discharge into rivers and streams, ageing water infrastructure at municipal level, the state of wastewater treatment works and skills development.
Indeed, the service delivery agreements we have signed with the President of the Republic attest to the need for all spheres of government to complement each other in the execution of our collective mandates. We are pleased to report that thus far we have worked well together to build capacity at local government level in the area of water quality management through our Green Drop and Blue Drop Certification programmes.
The continual consultative audits conducted as part of the Green Drop Certification programme have ensured that local authorities are capacitated on the strategic elements required for effective wastewater management. The introduction of the targeted Risk-based Regulation also ensures that all municipalities are informed about the site-specific risks posed to their wastewater operations, with tangible targets set for improved planning.
This Risk-based Regulation was augmented by a global first innovation to develop a Wastewater Risk Abatement Planning process, which is currently being peer-reviewed by the Water Research Commission and will be rolled out as soon as the peer review is complete. This will create a new pre-emptive paradigm for wastewater service management.
We are currently using this system within the Hartbeespoort Dam catchment area to ensure an improvement at source of the effluent being discharged into contributing tributaries. We are also grateful for the commitment of the municipal wastewater treatment management in the City of Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Mogale City and Randfontein in improving wastewater processing through the introduction of this system.
In another important development, the cities of Cape Town and eThekwini adopted this process voluntarily since they saw the enormous benefit that such an approach would bring to their wastewater management approach. We also deployed the emergency response facility as informed by the Green Drop regulatory processes. In this regard, I am also pleased to announce that we will host the 3 Third Municipal Water Quality Conference between 28 June and 30 June this year in Cape Town. This conference will bring together all people who are knowledgeable in this regard - practitioners dealing with water, as well as the municipalities and government sectors throughout the country.
We are also implementing the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme whose purpose is to assist with the refurbishment of wastewater-related infrastructure at local government level. Going forward, we will introduce new regulations for process controlling, which incorporates mandatory training for all water and wastewater process controllers. This we will do with the objective of enhancing and professionalising water and wastewater treatment skills.
In line with our commitment to the principle of co-operative governance, we will this year adopt an integrated approach to water provision. In terms of this approach, we will work together with water services authorities in the metros, district municipalities and local municipalities to provide an unbroken chain of water supply from source to tap and to ensure the sustainability of our water usage.
We are doing all of these things to realise and ensure that we increase the capacity of local government to deliver more services to our people. We are certain that the issue of water quality in our country is a matter that should be taken very seriously. Government is determined to provide the best quality water in line with acceptable standards. In this regard, we note with appreciation that the Blue Drop Certification process continues to be used effectively for water quality management.
In August 2010, the drinking water inspectorate of the United Kingdom assisted us in creating greater awareness of the World Health Organisation's relatively new concept of water safety planning. Today in South Africa, through the implementation of water safety plans, about 150 water supply systems comply with this new approach.
We are also pleased to report that working together with municipalities, we have initiated various capacity-building programmes in preparation for the Blue Drop audits that are currently under way. The report will be finalised now, in April, and will be released in June this year. We applaud the commitment with which municipal officials are preparing for these audits. To us this indicates an improved understanding of the importance of effective drinking water quality management and greater respect for and credibility of our regulatory role as a department.
This development, in terms of the good reception of the Blue Drop Certification process, proves the assertion that our drinking water compares favourably with the best in the world. Once again we call on South Africans to contribute towards upholding this standard by not polluting our rivers, streams and sources of water.
We look forward to hosting the conference we spoke about, and to hosting the Fourth Meeting of the International Network of Drinking-Water Regulator for 20 member countries in Cape Town later this year. The network will allow us to showcase our home-grown regulatory approach, showcased here outside. We would also like to show that to the developed world.
Last year we reported that our compliance monitoring and enforcement capacity was increased when a total number of 14 water management inspectors were recruited. They now stand at 21. In this respect, we have been able to give 141 predirectives and 26 directives. Four of those directives have been resolved positively and 25 cases are currently before the courts.
Our vigilance and water compliance efforts have revealed unlawful water use of the Vaal River system. About 244 cubic metres of water per annum is unlawfully withdrawn from the Vaal River system, depriving legal users of their legitimate use.
With regard to acid mine drainage, work that needs to be done as delegated and decided by Cabinet, includes, amongst other things, the enforcement of sections 19 and 20 of the National Water Act to follow up on the polluters of water in the Witwatersrand mining area. As government, we have rightfully undertaken to rehabilitate and clean up the water in partnership with a few mining houses. There are three good mining houses. Thank you, mining houses, for working with us. We will continue to apply the polluter- pays principle without fear or favour.
With regard to the issue of legislation, as part of ensuring that we make more water available to people for economic growth in this financial year, we will review the law.
Hon Minister, you have one minute left.
This law review will ensure that we address the issue of water entitlement. We will review the issue of continually hoarding water that is unused by people, and discuss this issue with them very sensitively in order for us to redirect this water to the people.
We continue to do a lot of work on an international basis with the African Ministers' Council on Water, Amcow, and we assist in South Africa and the rest of Africa. In that regard, we are doing an enormous amount of work. In future we will report on this work.
As I conclude, I would like to say that we will continue to rely on all of you here in this august House as hon members. Thank you very much for the hard work that you, as Members of Parliament, have put into the work that we do around water. I would like to thank our chairperson, board members, Members of Parliament in general and all our people throughout South Africa, and in particular the President of this country. I thank my Deputy here who has been very helpful as well. Thank you for the good work that you have been doing. I think that we will deliver water to the people. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Molewa, hon Deputy Minister Mabudafhasi, hon members, especially those of my portfolio committee, the water sector family, ladies and gentlemen, may I extend to all of you, on behalf of the portfolio committee, a very warm welcome to this Budget Vote debate of ours. I rise on this occasion on behalf of the ANC and, it is hoped, on behalf of the portfolio committee, in support of this Budget Vote allocation to the department.
I want to start my contribution to this debate on a positive note, by saying that I found our engagements on the Budget Vote and the strategic plan of the department, during January of this year and more recently, to be very useful, productive and encouraging. The engagements have been robust, open and transparent, with the department being forthcoming in engaging on its weaknesses, challenges and even mistakes. They, of course, and rightly so, have also not been shy loudly to proclaim their successes.
That, of course, does not mean that we have all agreed with each other about every aspect of the work of the department, but it has meant that we have been able to undertake our oversight responsibilities and duties towards each other in an atmosphere of respect and honesty, enhancing all the best elements of co-operative governance.
It would be remiss of me not to mention the fact that this constructive and positive approach of the portfolio committee, whilst robustly dealing with its oversight responsibilities and doing so with intellectual honesty, would not be possible if I as chairperson did not enjoy the support of every member and party in the portfolio committee, for which, of course, I thank you in steering the committee in the way we have.
It would be remiss of me further not to mention that during all these processes, the portfolio committee has enjoyed the full support and assistance of the Minister and the Deputy Minister. It is in this context that the portfolio committee further acknowledges that in its few interactions with the department, since the various leadership changes were made at Cabinet and parliamentary level, it has discerned a definite, positive, upward trend in the work and activities of the department, and pledges to remain in partnership with the department progressively and decisively to move the department towards operating at its optimal abilities, to serve the nation and our people in creating an efficient, effective, vibrant and sustainable water sector which delivers on the developmental needs of the country.
The department reported that for several months now it has been faced with a serious leadership crisis at senior management level. Most of the top leadership of the department are either suspended pending a disciplinary hearing, including the director-general, the chief financial officer, the Deputy Director-General of Corporate Services and the chief information officer, or are under investigation and removed from performing certain tasks, including all the members of the bid committee. All these suspensions and investigations and subsequent disciplinary proceedings of the top leadership of the department are because of alleged acts of dishonesty, mainly during procurement processes.
The portfolio committee noted that this has meant that Minister Molewa, who was appointed political head of the department towards the end of last year, not only inherited this leadership crisis, but since then has also worked with a senior management echelon performing mainly in an acting capacity. The Minister has acted swiftly and decisively to bring this unacceptable state of affairs to finality. However, the portfolio committee notes and is aware of the fact that disciplinary processes in government are notoriously slow and acrimonious, because of the legal framework in which they are conducted. The Minister has also taken further necessary steps to deal decisively with this matter, for example by replacing the whole bid committee with an interim bid committee and training a new one to assume its duties.
The department informed the portfolio committee that the disciplinary hearings against the director-general have been concluded. She has been found guilty and has been removed from her post. A disciplinary hearing against the chief financial officer has commenced and is in the process of being finalised. Disciplinary proceedings against the head of Corporate Services and the chief information officer are at an advanced stage and a disciplinary hearing will commence soon. The investigation against members of the bid committee and other members of staff is nearing finalisation, whereafter appropriate action will be taken.
The portfolio committee noted that this very unusual and unacceptable state of affairs of alleged serious acts of dishonesty, arising mainly from procurement processes surrounding most of the department's previous senior leadership and its bid committee, has created great instability and uncertainty in the department. The portfolio committee commends the Minister and the present acting senior leadership for the swift and decisive steps they have taken to remedy the matter, and urges them to leave no stone unturned to finally lay this matter to rest in the shortest period of time within the prescripts of the law. The portfolio committee is obviously also mindful of the fact that this ongoing crisis is not conducive to an optimum working environment, and that this has, to some extent, hampered the department's ability to function at its full potential.
The portfolio committee also acknowledges that the present Minister and the present echelon of acting senior management are in this budget hearing accounting to Parliament and taking responsibility for the challenges in the department, especially relating to their qualified financial report, and all the challenges faced with the financial management system, which in the main are not of their making and they have to answer for the actions of others, which is not easy. The portfolio committee urges the Minister and department to remain resolute and decisive in bringing this matter to finality.
The department reported that the Minister has appointed a team of experts to undertake a business review and re-engineering exercise of various aspects of the department, especially those areas where challenges are being faced. This process is ongoing and the department will report progress to the portfolio committee from time to time. The outcome of this review and re-engineering exercise will, in all probability, result in changes to the budget, to the organisational structures and processes, and to the programmes of the department. Obviously, whilst this exercise is proceeding, changes to structures and processes of the department are understandably being minimised so as not to either pre-empt or undermine the outcome of the exercise.
We are particularly waiting to engage with this process, especially around the water trading entity and where it should be going, and of course with the institutional arrangements around water infrastructure. At the moment we use a whole host of arrangements and procurement processes for our infrastructure spend. The department itself has the ability to do some of this work, for example the De Hoop Dam, and then of course there is the Trans-Caledon agency that has a completely different model of operation. These are all being looked at to try to find the optimum models to get a proper water infrastructure model and an institutional arrangement, and we are looking forward very much to engaging with this.
The department also highlighted that it was not complying with the government prescripts of employing 50% women and 2% disabled people, as the actual figures stand at 38% and 0,16% respectively. One of the challenges mentioned was the reluctance by employees to disclose their disabilities. For this financial year, the department has committed to achieving both targets, whatever difficulties are faced. However, the portfolio committee pointed out that even if all the advertised vacant posts were filled only by women and disabled people, this target would still not be met this year. Therefore, the portfolio committee was of the view that obviously and although the government prescripts must form the basis of the department's commitment, the department should compile a business plan indicating how these targets will be met over a reasonable period of time. The portfolio committee expressed the wish to engage with such a plan when it has been compiled.
The Auditor-General gave a qualified opinion in the previous financial year of the department's financial statements on various grounds. If you look at the history of the department this has, of course, been a step backwards. Originally, the department had qualified reports, then under Minister Hendricks a period existed where there were unqualified reports, and then under the previous Minister there were qualified reports again. So, obviously, this is something that we are engaging with quite vigorously.
The key challenges, as assessed by the CFO of the department, the Office of the Auditor-General and the National Treasury, and given as the reasons for the qualified opinion, have had a major impact on the work of the department. What we did as a committee was to make sure that all three of them were present when we discussed these problems and these risks, so that we could get buy-in from all of them with regard to what the best solutions were to deal with these issues. We have commenced with that process and it is ongoing.
They pointed out, firstly, under the main account that there were the following risk areas: incomplete asset registers, the classification of expense items was not correct, problems in supply-chain management, and that our auditing of performance information had weaknesses.
Then, regarding the water trading entity, the Auditor-General first pointed out that it used an accrual basis for accounting, whereas the usual basis for use is a cash basis, and that that in its own right creates certain problems. Four risk areas for the water trading entity were also identified: firstly, revenue management was problematic particularly in that the billing system of the water trading entity had huge problems; secondly, there were problems with the supply-chain management; thirdly, the construction assets were done by way of a model that was not conducive to accuracy; and, fourthly, the audit of performance information was, once again, problematic.
Then, from the National Treasury's side there were four risk factors that were identified in respect of both the main account and the water trading entity: firstly, the institutional arrangements within the department conflated the mandates of the department, and there was a whole explanation on that issue; secondly, in implementing capital projects, the decisions on strategies, finance and projects were taken by the department, whilst the technical capacity was located and sourced outside this process; thirdly, there was inadequate capacity for ongoing operations and maintenance of projects; and, lastly, the lack of a clear tracking system used for revenue collection by the water trading entity did not provide a mechanism to ensure that all clients paid for services. And, as the committee has learnt, this is a huge problem.
In providing solutions to all the above challenges that were mentioned by all these role-players, the department highlighted the following actions which have been taken or are in the process of being taken. Firstly, there is the appointment of a separate chief financial officer for the water trading entity, suitably qualified and to be seconded to the department from the business sector, to address all the risks identified by the Auditor-General.
Secondly, the business engineering process - which I have already alluded to - should address certain institutional issues that were also identified by the National Treasury. The department has also established a risk- management committee that has identified 10 risk areas and which monitors these risk areas and then reports back to the director-general.
Another action is the appointment of an interim audit steering committee comprising officials from the Office of the National Treasury, the Auditor- General and the department to address issues around supply chain and procurement management issues - as I indicated in the beginning, the problem that exists is around procurement. Therefore, this committee will now look with these three agencies at how to change and remove many of the risks that exist in the supply chain management.
There is also the action of the implementation of an integrated management system with the help of the National Treasury. The misclassification of assets is being corrected. There is the formulation and implementation of clear asset management plans, and a mechanism linking all procurement to the business plan during approvals.
Both the Auditor-General's Office and the National Treasury agreed that the department, especially the acting CFO, was fully co-operating in addressing all these challenges in terms of the financial management system of the department. The portfolio committee emphasised that it expected the department to consult the Auditor-General's Office and the National Treasury every step of the way as it addressed all the challenges it faced in its financial management system.
The portfolio committee recalled that the South African government committed our country to meeting the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. However, the manner in which all or most departments annually report to Parliament in respect of their strategic plans and budget allocations does not include a report to explain the extent to which the annual strategic plan and budget allocations will actually contribute to a department reaching the targets which are contained in that portion of the Millennium Development Goals falling within the department's remit. The portfolio committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the department should annually include in the strategic plan a section which spells out in detail how the strategic plan and budget allocations for that year will meet the targets and aspirations to which our country committed itself in terms of meeting the Millennium Development Goals which fall within its remit.
The portfolio committee requests, in the interim, that the department compile a report for tabling in Parliament as soon as possible, reflecting the Millennium Development Goal targets which fall within its mandate, and then to indicate the extent to which the targets have been met or whether they are going to be met. It is the wish of the portfolio committee that the achievement of the MDGs falling within the department's mandate becomes a standing item on its agenda, for example when the department gives input for the country's report tabled in the UN, such input should also be shared with the portfolio committee for engagement.
In respect of the water infrastructure budget, the department indicated that there had been some increases in the baseline, but emphasised especially that the small infrastructure projects, including operations and maintenance projects which will be implemented through the Regional Bulk Infrastructure Programme, have received a substantial allocation increase of almost R900 million for this year. This is welcomed by the portfolio committee, and our wish is to see the water infrastructure budget in coming years being substantially augmented beyond the baseline.
The committee recommends that the department should give further consideration to an engagement with the National Treasury to reach consensus that when allocating funds for infrastructure projects to the department, the National Treasury should, at the same time and as part of the allocation, make a conditional grant allocation to the relevant municipality in order for the project to be fully funded from the beginning through to completion, rather than leaving it to the municipality to arrange separate funding for its infrastructure - from the point at which the department stops its infrastructure and has to take it to its clients.
One further major challenge identified by the portfolio committee is that all additional budget allocations made in terms of the water infrastructure programme are in respect of existing projects only, and no funding is being allocated to fund new infrastructure programmes. Therefore, all water infrastructure programmes are locked into the present growth path of the country. If one adds to this the fact that 98% of all current water resources have already been allocated, then it is pretty obvious that the future availability of new water resources may soon become a major restriction or inhibitor of growth in our country.
To illustrate this point - and we were very fortunate, Minister, to call on Prof Mark Swilling to give us an input on the economics of development - when dealing with South Africa's resource constraints on growth, Prof Mark Swilling pointed out that although 98% of available water resources have been allocated, the growth rates follow exactly the level of water availability. So your growth path, with regard to what the signs show you, is actually in line with and mirrors exactly your water availability. Therefore if we are locked into a situation in which most of our water has been allocated and we have no funds to create new infrastructure, then what we are doing to ourselves as a country is locking ourselves into the growth path that we have now. And, clearly, that is something that we as the portfolio committee think we need to address seriously.
The portfolio committee is also of the view that major political decisions need to be made in respect of the availability of new water resources in the near future to address these major possible inhibiting factors on a realistic and reasonable upward growth path for our nation. The government's goal of creating a developmental state, with a progressive, rapid and sustainable growth path, and which is people-orientated requires, inter alia, major investment by the government to ensure a rapidly expanding and sustainable water resource base.
The portfolio committee is also of the view that the department should review its water infrastructure investment patterns of the past few decades, to move them more rapidly away from the apartheid growth paradigm we have slowly been moving away from in the past two decades, and bring them more in line with a different developmental paradigm, which is more in tune with the objectives of a progressive developmental state.
Here I always use this example: if you were to fly by helicopter over the north of the Eastern Cape, then, as you flew over Kokstad you would see a sea of water wherever you looked - farm dams and municipal water sources - but as soon as you went over the hill that took you to the old Transkei, you did not see a shimmer of water, you did not see anything for many kilometres.
Now, if you are a developmental state, the idea is that you create capacity in certain areas where people can empower themselves so that they can undertake certain economic activity. So, if we are locked into a paradigm in which we build dams only where we have had economic growth until now, we will be seriously inhibiting the capacity of our people to be able to be empowered and overcome the issues they want to overcome.
I know that the Minister has already started this debate herself. So, what we are really looking at is to start a new debate to change the mindset from the existing paradigms of thinking on development, as they come from the legacy of our past, and to really start finding new ways of looking at that development path. This is a major political discussion that we as a committee will definitely engage in, and I know that the Minister is also engaged in this.
Government's investigation through a team of experts into the challenges we face around acid mine drainage, especially in the Johannesburg area, has led to a comprehensive report being compiled, which has now been adopted by Cabinet, with an action plan and a budget allocation. The portfolio committee has decided to conduct public hearings on this matter, in May/June this year, at which time we will also request responses from the Chamber of Mines and the owners of the different mines that are causing or contributing to the problem. The portfolio committee has acknowledged that institutional changes are in progress in the department, and whilst an overview was provided, detailed briefings on certain issues will require further scrutiny by the portfolio committee. We will, for example, be looking at further engagements around the ...
Hon member, your time has expired.
I just want to say that we accepted the strategic plan and the budget of the department on the basis of looking at certain changes to the strategic plan - that has been done and has been tabled in Parliament. I thank you very much. [Applause.]
Chairperson, it is often noted by environmental stakeholders that South Africa is either in the midst of a water crisis, or is facing one. In reply, government, whatever sphere, usually replies defensively that there is no crisis. Granted we are a large country and the extent to which water, both with regards to quality and availability, is a problem differs from town to town and region to region. Whether there is a national crisis at the moment is debatable, but we have to be vigilant.
Where I believe there is a major problem is in the management of water, whether at a national or local government level. In securing our water future for all South Africans so that we can develop as a country in order to satisfy human and environmental health and create opportunities and jobs, water needs to be at the forefront of planning.
At the outset, let me acknowledge that since this Parliament last debated the budget of the Department of Water Affairs, we have a new Minister. The hon Molewa inherited a department plagued by management and institutional problems. There is no director-general in place. This has been the case since late July 2009 when the former director-general was placed on special leave, pending an investigation.
The Auditor-General's subsequent investigation painted a damning picture of over R1 billion of irregular expenditure on, among other things, the irregular extension of contracts, deviation from procurement policies and the paying of service providers without contracts in place. The director- general was formally dismissed more than a year later, but the matter has dragged on in the bargaining council.
They say a fish rots from the head down, and that is what happened in the past in this department. Besides the director-general, in recent months the chief financial officer, the Deputy Director-General of Corporate Services and the chief information officer were all placed on suspension pending investigation.
While it is disturbing that one department could have such severe problems at senior management level, it is nevertheless commendable that action has been taken against employees who have betrayed South Africa through their grossly poor financial management. In addition to that, let me pay tribute to the many good men and women who serve this department, some of whom are in senior management, and who are committed to securing our country's water future. I realise the burden that you are facing in turning around this department. Your efforts are being noticed, and I wish you well.
I also wish the hon Minister well in her new position. The Minister has shown determination in wanting to turn around this department and we are already, from a management point of view, seeing some positive results. I commend our new chairperson Adv Johnny de Lange for bringing new rigour to the work of our committee's oversight. I suspect the department will be the better for it.
With regard to sound financial governance, the qualified audit report of the department needs to be turned around, and it is fortunately receiving attention. The water trading entity, which is in a complete mess, needs to be put in intensive care. Fortunately, the department and the Auditor- General have diagnosed the ailments, and the condition is not terminal.
This entity, which is responsible for billing water users and collecting revenue, has had two qualified opinions and two disclaimer opinions in the past five years. Before this country even has a discussion on reviewing water pricing, and before we introduce an independent regulator for water, which the DA is fully supportive of, we need to improve the confidence of water users in the water trading entity.
It is commonly noted by the department that 98% of water is already allocated. Unless we start recycling water in a massive way and unless we start using new sources of water, this country's economy will not grow, new jobs will not be created, and we will put human and environmental health at risk.
The DA welcomes the review of the water resources strategy in South Africa, which is critical for long-term planning. But we question the lack of consideration in Minister Patel's New Growth Path of the environmental constraints on growth. Minister Patel wants five million new jobs by 2020. Yes, we need those jobs, but those jobs will not be created unless we understand the constraints on growth. Not only is there the carbon and soils constraint, but there is the water constraint. It cannot be business as usual when it comes to water.
Minister Patel wants to create more jobs through mining and agriculture, both of which are water-thirsty. But there is not much water left to allocate. Let us be honest with our citizens.
We must commit ourselves to finding ways to generate a higher GDP with fewer units of water. As noted by Dr Anthony Turton recently in a presentation to a water conference, in order to sustain growth we need 62 billion cubic metres of water, but we have only 38 billion cubic metres now. We can do this, Madam Minister. We have to do this. Let us commit ourselves to recycling, efficiency and reuse. The department also has to learn to say no to certain developments when they apply for water licences. With this is mind the DA is disappointed that the Department of Water has provided the Vele Colliery, located near the sensitive Mapungubwe area, with a water licence. In my opinion, there is insufficient water in the catchment for this mine. The mine is likely to have a detrimental impact on the shared water courses with Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. This decision should be reviewed.
It is time to declare moratoriums on new mining in certain critical areas under threat, like the Vaal, Usutu and Komati River Basins. It is time to crack down on users that are using water illegally. It is simply unacceptable that as of June last year there were 120 mines in South Africa operating without water licences.
We need to move away from the old South African thinking of prioritising water for energy and mining at all costs. With this in mind, Madam Minister, I ask you to apply your mind to the issue of the proposed gas exploration rights in the Karoo, which, if granted, will see the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, as a technique. It is your colleague, the Minister of Mineral Resources' responsibility to decide on the awarding of these rights. But you and your department have influence.
Once the Petroleum Agency of SA receives the environmental management plans from applicants, it is obliged to consult with the Departments of Water and of Environmental Affairs. If the Minister of Mineral Resources will not declare a moratorium on gas exploration, which I have asked her to do, then I ask you to make the case from a water and environmental point of view during consultation.
There is no policy on fracking in South Africa. Each fracking event uses millions of litres of water - water that we do not have - and makes use of a cocktail of toxic chemicals. Pollution events do occur, and none of the applicants can promise that the process is foolproof. We need to proceed with caution. We do not know enough about the deep geology of the Karoo. We should take note of the fact that the Environmental Protection Agency in the USA, mandated by Congress, is currently conducting a study on the relationship between fracking and water quality.
If a country like the USA, where tens of thousands of wells have been fracked, is concerned, so should we be concerned. The National Environment Management Authority, Nema, is very clear on the precautionary principle. Where there are uncertainties we should not proceed. Join this debate, Madam Minister, and defend our water. In dealing with the legacies of our past and, it is hoped, learning from them, the response to acid mine drainage in the Witwatersrand now has to be full steam ahead.
The threats to water quality in our country are numerous. Whether it be failing wastewater treatment plants at a municipal level, industrial pollution or acid mine drainage, there is a problem that needs to be tackled head-on. This country, the 30th driest country in the world and a country which will likely increasingly suffer some of the worst impacts of climate change, simply does not have sufficient dilution capacity to deal with pollution in its water courses.
Poor water quality is a risk to human health, especially for those people who still draw water directly from water courses. It is also a risk to agriculture, hence potentially jeopardising our food security and our ability to earn foreign exchange from exporting food.
Pollution from wastewater treatment works is a daily occurrence in South Africa. This is indicative of underspending on infrastructure by many municipalities and of poor planning. Our fleet of wastewater treatment works are literally creaking at the seams. In Limpopo, the Eastern Cape and North West, 95% of treatment plants exceed their design capacity, while 100% of treatment plants in North West are not compliant with effluent discharge standards.
Directives and notices of compliance are increasingly being issued by the national Department of Water Affairs against municipalities, and that is to be commended. But a general improvement in the management and capacity of the fleet of treatment plants needs to be prioritised at a local government level.
The last published Green Drop report, released in April 2010, revealed that only 3% of all wastewater treatment plants in the country had Green Drop status, which is a badge of honour for plants that are well managed across a number of criteria. In the second assessment period, close to all wastewater treatment plants have been assessed, which is a commendable achievement by the department, compared to the first reporting period. We know that the Green Drop system is generally having a positive impact, as many municipal managers who previously neglected their sewerage systems now know their poor management is being exposed nationally.
While the next Green Drop report is only due for release in June 2011, more than a year after the previous report and containing information already six months out of date, we already know a few general findings: 52,5% of plants have showed progress, 22,3% of systems remain unchanged, and 25,1% have regressed. The majority of provinces improved on their wastewater services profile in the last year, with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal.
The DA has previously called on the Minister to release the full findings of the Green Drop report before the local government elections so that voters can know how their administrations have managed wastewater treatment plants. [Interjections.] But, sadly, that has not happened. Our people have a right to regular and accurate information on sewerage infrastructure as it has consequences for their health. Besides treating sewage, municipalities and water boards also have to purify water for drinking purposes. Our country regularly trumpets the quality of its drinking water and, as the Minister has said, it is generally very good. But that is cold comfort for areas where so-called drinking water turns toxic.
Take, for example, the Moqhaka Municipality in the Free State, where last October the municipal administration knowingly pumped water through the purification system without chemicals, resulting in over 1 000 people getting diarrhoea and more than 350 people having to be treated in hospital. One could also take the case of Madibeng in North West where residents of that municipality had to put up with dirty brown water coming from their taps for many months in 2010. Fortunately, treatment capacity in that municipality is improving following a refurbishment. But the response from the previous Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs - and, I stress, previous Minister - was scandalous. Upon visiting Madibeng on 28 October last year, three days before, interestingly, she was relieved of her duties, she said the residents could expect a "Christmas present" of clean drinking water by the end of last year. Water is a right, not a gift from the government, which is something the previous Minister did not quite understand.
In conclusion, the provision of water, for whatever use, whether it is for human consumption or productive use in the economy, needs to be at the forefront of planning. Let's get the priorities right. The primary focus must be on ensuring that the backlog in the provision of water to our people is eradicated, and where the provision has already been secured, that it is maintained. There must be sufficient water of an acceptable quality in our water courses to satisfy the needs of the ecological reserve.
We must use water efficiently and smartly for productive purposes to grow jobs and opportunities. The Department of Water Affairs must be at the forefront of planning, and it must resist attempts from other state entities to divert water to projects that are not in the long-term interests of our country. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, members ... [Interjections.]
Order! Order, please! Order! Let's listen to the hon member, please.
... members of the portfolio committee, it is always good to see our previous chairperson. It shows that her heart is still with us. Thank you for being here. I know that you are very close to this committee.
Having said that, the United Nations report on water suggests that every person needs 20 to 50 litres of safe freshwater a day to ensure that their basic need for drinking, cooking and cleaning are met. Water concerns and the effective management of water resources are currently some of the major issues threatening our livelihood as South Africans today. Research has shown that, at our current rate, we will run out of freshwater in 15 years. Our freshwater resources are in a critical state and need some immediate attention.
Access to clean water is a basic human right. It is, therefore, the government's mandate to make sure that we always have that right, and people who do not have it, get it. With the allocated budget of R9,9 billion, jobs must be created, service delivery must improve, and infrastructure must be sustained and developed.
The department was in a state of disarray at the end of last year. It has received qualified audit reports for years in succession, and we hope that there will be progress from now onwards - from 2011 to 2012.
With regard to the current situation, pollution, climate change and the lack of effective environmentally friendly water management are three of the biggest threats to our water resources. In addition, South Africa's limited water resources have been further impaired by mineralisation, eutrophication and acid mine drainage. Overall, our skills base has been degraded, especially with regard to water professionals and people with skills and expertise in this highly specialised field.
With regard to our policies and management of our water, we must think seriously of long-term solutions and ways in which the government can provide potable water, especially for our rural communities. Proper water management and treatment facilities will not only secure our water resources, but also provide us with food security and health.
A report discussed at the UN water conference in Cape Town has warned that South Africa is heading for disaster unless it tackles the problem of water pollution, including its failing sewerage treatment systems. The report found that the situation was so bad that it called for wastewater facilities that did not comply with their licences to be prosecuted. Water quality, the report stated, was excellent in metropolitan areas. But in many rural areas and towns the quality of drinking water and wastewater effluent were frequently below the standards. Cope wants to see all rural areas enjoy freshwater, good infrastructure and service delivery. Currently, this is not the case.
With regard to the 17th Conference of the Parties, COP 17, of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be hosted in Durban in December 2011, South Africa will have to play a leading role in shaping the water agenda on developing adaptation strategies on climate change under the banner of the United Nations. It is imperative that we, as the host nation, have a strategic plan in place to lead the plight of the developing nations with regard to water security. The European Union has stated that South Africa had neither the capacity nor the strategy to secure a deal on climate change as host of the conference. We need to prove them wrong here, Minister.
According to Prof Terence McCarthy, South Africa's water resources will be hard hit by climate change and the impact will be felt most in the rural areas, in which about 61% of the population live. In terms of the National Climate Change Response Strategy, the present population growth trends and water use behaviour indicate that South Africa will exceed the limits of its economically usable land-based water resources by 2015.
Prof Mark Swilling has also indicated that the world population would have grown by 30 billion by 2050. Water is the primary medium through which the impact of climate change will be felt by people, ecosystems and economies, after which comes food security. The White Paper points out that if the COP 17 negotiations do not succeed in decreasing the earth's temperature by two degrees, the potential impact on South Africa in the medium to long term is potentially catastrophic.
There is a need to encourage the development of water-sensitive urban design that minimises pollution and erosion. Good water management systems and institutions need to be developed and maintained, from villages through to the national level, to ensure sustainable and affordable water provision for all.
With regard to sustainable development, South Africa contains about 500 government-built dams. This means that our ecosystems, communities, health and natural environment are in danger. Already, we have lost 50% of our wetlands owing to the building of dams. Despite this extensive degradation of our freshwater resources, an estimated overall increase in demand of some 52% over the next 30 years is predicted.
In conclusion, the water crisis is not only the responsibility and duty of the Departments of Water and of Environmental Affairs, but also of other overlapping departments such as Mineral Resources; Health; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries; and other departments. As South Africans, we may not be able to control the climate, but we can contribute positively to policy and to our immediate environment and through activism by focusing our efforts on water conservation and land-use practices. The time for change is now. Thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, the aim of the Department of Water Affairs, which is spelt out in, among other things, the budget summary, is to ensure the availability and supply of water at the national level, facilitate equitable and sustainable socioeconomic development, and ensure the universal and efficient supply of water services at the local level and especially in the rural areas. The majority of urban municipalities have reasonable levels of water supply.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of rural municipalities. The IFP believes that the enlightened way of dealing with the problem of water shortage is for the national government to limit its role to that of co- ordinating the planning of the collection of water through the building of dams and canals, and tapping river systems in neighbouring countries which have spare capacity. Bureaucratic controls over water should be reduced in order to save money.
The management of water resources and the allocation of water, including the sale of water, should be entrusted to the provinces. Provincial administrations should manage all aspects of water provision, except those involving major capital projects, as well as the integration of water systems and international negotiations on the supply of water from foreign countries. The value of water should be recognised between provinces through the payment of royalties. The day-to-day control of water resources in their areas of jurisdiction should be entrusted to traditional agencies, that is municipalities, irrigation committees and, in the tribal areas, the amakhosi [chiefs]. [Interjections.] Ehhe! [Yes!] [Applause.] Given the less than positive state of water security in South Africa, it is our firm belief that, as the country, we should do everything in our power to ensure that every threat to water security is dealt with decisively. The IFP is, therefore, extremely concerned about the associated environmental impact of Shell SA's plan to commence with the exploration of shale gas in the Karoo. In addition, South Africa is in the middle of an international bidding process to host the Square Kilometre Array site, which bid will be unduly hampered and perhaps lost if Shell SA's proposed Karoo gas project goes ahead.
Against a global rainfall average of 870 millimetres per year, South Africa receives a pitiful 450 millimetres, making it the world's 30th driest country. This, together with what happened recently in the rural town of Beaufort West, means that greater emphasis must be placed on water recycling systems for rural communities throughout South Africa.
In conclusion, we are also concerned about the skills shortage within water services at all levels of government. I have noticed that the department intends to deploy engineers to municipalities. I must honestly express my doubts as to when this will become a reality, given the national department's own inability to retain qualified personnel. [Interjections.]
Cha, ngiyakhuluma, ngikhuluma noNgqongqoshe. Ngiyabonga. [No, I am on the floor, I am addressing the Minister. Thank you.]
The IFP supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Sihlalo ohloniphekileko, Ngqongqotjhe womNyango wezaManzi neBhoduluko, aboSekela Ngqongqotjhe akhona la namaLunga ahloniphekileko, ngiyanilotjhisa. Ilungelo lokuthola amanzi liqakathekile kwamabala kobana umuntu aphile ipilo enesithunzi. Isithunzi, ukulingana, izwelo nobunye, litshwayo nefundiso yomphakathi otjhejako begodu ukunikela umphakathi amanzi ngokujayelekileko, kunye nemindeni etlhagako ngokukhethekileko, kusisenzo esitjengisa ubuntu nefundiso evezwe ngehla. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[Mr J J SKOSANA: Hon Chairperson, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Deputy Ministers who are present here and Members of Parliament, I greet you all. The right to access to basic water is important for a person to live a dignified life. Dignity, equality and unity are all signs of communities that care for each other. And the provision of water to communities as expected, especially to poor families, is an act on its own that shows humanity and a well-taught society, as alluded to above.]
The developmental state must ensure that water, as one of South Africa's national resource endowments, is exploited to effectively maximise the development and employment potential it offers. Water must be used on behalf of the people in a manner that promotes the sustainability and development of local communities and realises the economic and social needs of the whole nation.
The ANC's policies have enabled six million households to gain access to clean water since 1994. In 1994, only 62% of households had access to clean drinking water, while that figure stands at 98% today, with the majority of our people being provided with free basic water.
It cannot be disputed that the ANC-led government is biased towards the poor and most vulnerable people who are mostly to be found in the rural areas. The constitutional right to water, which has enabled the ANC-led government to protect and promote the right to water of every individual, is amply demonstrated by the policy and legislative framework, budget allocations and achievements to date on this critical issue.
The water in our dams, reservoirs and rivers is not worth much if the people do not have direct access to it. Therefore, some of the core functions of the Department of Water Affairs are to manage and regulate our water resources to ensure the availability and supply of water at a national level, to facilitate equitable and sustainable distribution and delivery, and to ensure the universal and efficient supply of water services at the local level. Sihlalo, uMongameli wagandelela, ekulumenakhe yesitjhaba yomnyaka lo, kobana umthangalasisekelo wamanzi ufuneka kwamambala ukuze kwehliswe ukusalela emva kokutlhayela kwamanzi. Iimbawo zamanzi zirhagele khulu ngeLimpopo, KwaZulu-Natal nePumalanga Kapa, lapho ukutholakala kwamanzi kuyinto eqakathekileko. Begodu kulapho iphesente yemindeni ethola amanzi ingaphasi kwesilinganiso esibekiweko senarha. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[Chairperson, the President in his state of the nation address this year emphasised that water infrastructure is seriously needed to decrease the backlog in the supply of water. There are many applications for water provision in Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, where access to water is vitally important. And it is where the percentage of families that have access to water is below the national target.]
The need to accelerate access to water-related services was highlighted by the President in the state of the nation address, when he indicated that R2,6 billion will be spent on water infrastructure, with priority given to those provinces where a large number of people do not have access to safe drinking water.
This will, in fact, be implemented in terms of the Water Infrastructure Management Programme and the Regional Implementation and Support Programme as the top spending programmes. The Water Infrastructure Management Programme received an allocation of R2,6 billion, which is an increase of 11,2% in real terms, while the Regional Implementation and Support Programme received an allocation of R5,6 billion, or an increase of 22,6% in real terms, for the 2011-12 financial year.
The Department of Water Affairs has also adopted a new outcomes-based approach to service delivery. In line with this approach, the department has identified the following key strategic priority areas, among other things, for the 2011-12 medium-term period, namely promoting sustainable and equitable water resources management; building capacity to deliver quality services; and supporting local government to deliver water services.
In support of local government, in its function to provide water services, capacity is provided through the deployment of engineers to municipalities to assist with infrastructure-related programmes or projects, and in overseeing the training of staff required to ensure the optimal operation of wastewater treatment works and compliance with the Green Drop and Blue Drop assessments.
As far as compliance with the drinking water quality standards in South Africa is concerned, the Blue Drop and Green Drop certification system was launched and implemented to encourage local municipalities to improve their water quality management, while empowering consumers with information regarding the quality of water coming out of their taps. The process of issuing Blue and Green Drop status has proved that, while there are areas in South Africa that require intervention, tap water remains safe to drink in most cities and towns. The majority of municipalities have apparently displayed a positive attitude towards the programme, with 96 Blue Drop and 84 Green Drop status certifications issued nationwide thus far.
The objectives of the Regional Implementation and Support Programme are, among other things, to ensure the availability of water supply for domestic use through the development of infrastructure by providing technical support to municipalities to access potable water through the use of bulk infrastructure schemes by 2013-14; to ensure the provision of institutional support to local government by providing targeted engineering advice and technical support to municipalities where necessary, and assisting municipalities to develop and implement the regulatory performance measurement system.
This programme accelerates community access to water infrastructure by providing support to provincial and local government to deliver water services. This budget allocation increased from R4,4 billion in the 2010-11 financial year, to R5,6 billion in the 2011-12 financial year and accounts for 56,5% of the total Water Affairs budget.
This is a clear indication of the significant reprioritisation of this programme towards accelerating the development of regional bulk infrastructure and water treatment works within the local government sphere and its continued support of National Outcome No 4.
The Department of Water Affairs' spending focus over the medium term will be on infrastructure and bulk distribution in order to provide a reliable and sustainable supply of water to meet demand at local government level. This focus is also expected to create jobs in line with the ANC-led government's New Growth Path strategy.
The De Hoop Dam project will deliver water for domestic and agricultural use in the Greater Sekhukhune, Waterberg and Capricorn District Municipalities, with an estimated three million plus people as beneficiaries in the domestic sector. The Nandoni Project, as the Minister has indicated, will augment the water supply to the Vhembe District Municipality in Limpopo. The total value of the project is R2 billion, of which R532,9 million has been allocated over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period.
Sihlalo ohloniphekileko, ukunikelwa kwamanzi kuyincenye ekulu yokulethwa kweendingo emphakathini. Kungebangelo urhulumende we-ANC abona ukunikelwa kwamanzi qobe lilanga njengelungelo lobuntu. Ilungelweli linikela woke umuntu igunya lokuthola amanzi aneleko, aphephileko, amukelekileko natholakala lula. (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[Hon Chairperson, the supply of water to communities is a crucial part of service delivery. That is why the ANC-led government sees the provision of water as a human rights issue every day. This right provides everyone with the power freely to access clean, sufficient, safe and acceptable water that can be easily accessed.]
In conclusion, Chairperson ...
Lokhu sekwenze umNyango wezaManzi neBhoduluko bona usebenze ngaphezu kokulindelekileko kobana kutholakale amanzi enarheni mazombe godu usekele urhulumende wemakhaya nabomasipala kobana isitjhaba sekhethu sithole amanzi. I-ANC isekela i-Vote yesabelo yomNyango wezeeMali lo. Ngiyathokoza. [Iwahlo.] (Translation of isiNdebele paragraph follows.)
[This has led the Department of Water Affairs to go the an extra mile to ensure that there is water all over the country and also to support the provincial and local governments to ensure that our nation gets the water. The ANC supports the Budget Vote for this financial year. Thank you. [Applause.]]
Chairperson and Minister, it is often said that water is our country's most precious resource. It is essential to all life on this planet and it is needed for almost every economic activity. The unfortunate reality, however, is that South Africa is the 30th driest country in the world and already 98% of our available water resources have been allocated.
The impacts of climate change are projected to make this situation even worse, making the management of our water resources our most important development challenge. Water could, in fact, prove to be the trip switch of our future economic growth if we don't seriously confront this challenge.
It is therefore tragic that given the importance of this sector, the government has allowed this department to descend into such chaos. There is a vacancy rate of over 15% and most of the senior management are in acting positions, because many members of the previous leadership are being investigated for corruption.
Minister, the ID realises that you inherited this atrocious state of affairs, but, for the sake of our country's future, you have to urgently turn it around.
This department must be at the forefront of ensuring that our water constraints inform all our actions as a government and as a society. All of the grandiose economic plans that we currently see coming out of government need to be assessed in terms of their sustainability with regard to our future water supply.
It is also this department that should be raising a red flag against the proposed fracking in the Karoo. At the very least, it should be motivating that a comprehensive study first be conducted on the extent of the Karoo aquifer and its functioning before any prospecting is even considered there. The Blue Scorpions must also be significantly bolstered and action must be taken against all those who pollute our water courses, no matter how politically connected they might be.
In this respect, the ID wants to know from the Minister when we can expect to see Aurora in court for their criminal act of pumping millions of litres of untreated acid mine water into the Blesbokspruit wetlands? [Interjections.] The ID can only hope that the recent R1 million donation to the ruling party by their director, Khulubuse Zuma, will not lead to even less action being taken against a company that has created an absolute environmental and human rights tragedy. [Interjections.] Similar action must be taken against those municipalities who have jeopardised our people's health through allowing their wastewater treatment plants to fall into complete disrepair.
Minister, the ID does, however, look forward to working with you in turning this department around so that we can finally adopt a proactive stance to our water challenges as opposed to simply reacting to a series of unfolding crises. I thank you. [Applause.]
Hon Chair, chair of the portfolio committee, hon members, our VIP guests, ladies and gentlemen, I stood in front of you last year and made a number of pronouncements on programmes, which were to be achieved in the previous fiscal year. Today I would like to give you feedback and outline new programmes and initiatives.
With regard to local government support, access to potable and clean drinking water remains our priority. Some of the challenges include ageing infrastructure, linking water infrastructure to water resources, and rapid population growth.
We have thus embarked on the following programmes to address those challenges. In terms of regional bulk water infrastructure, last year we announced a target of 107 projects. However, we went beyond our target as we have implemented 117 projects to date and created 879 jobs, bringing the total number to 7 221. In the current financial year, we will create 1 210 job opportunities. The Olifantspoort water treatment works in Limpopo have been completed, which addressed population growth in the Polokwane and the Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipalities and some areas of the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality. The construction of the Moutse bulk water supply scheme, which will enable communities to access water, will start very soon, in October this year. The bulk pipeline between the Taung Dam and Pudimoe will be constructed early next year.
With regard to our interventions on service delivery challenges, the provision of basic water services is the business of all spheres of government. We've jointly developed a plan of action to address the hot spot areas together. To cite some examples of working together, we have constructed a borehole water scheme in North West in Setlagole Village. In Mukula Village, Limpopo, we rehabilitated the existing boreholes as a short- term solution, while construction of the bulk water scheme will commence in May this year to be completed in June 2012.
We are also doing a lot with regard to water conservation. Last year we initiated the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme, to which we allocated R83 million in Cape Town, eThekwini, the City of Johannesburg and the Nelson Mandela metros to address water conservation and demand management challenges. The intervention addressed leak repairs, pressure management, education and awareness and use of effluent to offset demand for potable water. We thus saved 219 megalitres.
On the basis of lessons learnt in local government support, we developed an enhanced Local Government Support Approach, which ensures that the department provides full support to the entire water value chain.
We are also taking care of our youth. The War on Leaks project was launched in Mogale City, which targets the youth, educating water users about the importance of repairing water leaks. The youth educates the communities about fixing leaking taps and toilets. The project created 146 jobs for the youth and exposed them to various skills training.
In KwaZulu-Natal, 81 unemployed graduates have been trained in technical skills and employed by the Department of Water Affairs and municipalities.
Our 2020 Vision Programme is one of our of our key education initiatives, which aims to educate learners from Grades R to 12 about water resource management and water conservation. The acquired knowledge is transferred to their families and communities. The programme is implemented in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education. In the nine provinces, 6 000 learners participated in various projects such as competitions, etc. Curriculum-aligned educational resource materials have been developed with the Department of Basic Education to be piloted in 135 schools. This programme has exposed learners, who performed exceptionally well, to international platforms as we scooped the Stockholm Junior Water Prize twice. We also provided bursaries to 40 learners.
It is with joy that I introduce to you Motebele Moshodi, who is with us here. Will you please stand up? [Applause.] He is one of the three learners who won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize in 2005. [Applause.] He joined the department this year as a graduate trainee through the department's learning academy. Through Baswa Le Meetse, we provided 350 computers sponsored by MTN to the national winners of the Baswa Le Meetse competition.
Together, let's mobilise more schools to be part of this programme. We have initiated discussions with the Department of Science and Technology and the Water Research Commission to facilitate the patenting of the science projects developed by the learners, to test and implement them.
Our rural development programme has provided 5 280 rainwater harvesting tanks and created 320 job opportunities. We have also provided 360 poorly resourced farmers with bulk water distribution infrastructure for irrigation, with subsidies for operations and maintenance costs. We invested R11 million for the construction of the main irrigation pipeline and pump station for the Blocuso Trust project near Upington in the Northern Cape, which will benefit 446 farmers.
In the Moletele community near Hoedspruit in Limpopo, we have invested R107 million in the past five years for the construction of a bulkwater distribution pipeline to benefit 1 600 families. We have allocated R49 million for the current financial year to the rural development programme, which will provide financial assistance to resource poor farmers, rainwater harvesting, water allocation reform and multiple water-use systems. The "Adopt a River" project stakeholders recommended that we enhance the project by adopting a catchment. This will, amongst other things, promote integrated planning, a shared vision, an intersectoral approach and active stakeholder participation in the management of water resources.
With regard to the water user associations, we have been struggling to transform them; there are 279 irrigation boards. To date, only 59 irrigation boards have been transformed into water user associations. In the current financial year, we will continue to transform more boards.
Our rivers are highly polluted. They are dumping areas for all types of waste. The health of our rivers has deteriorated and ecosystems are affected, thus we launched the "Adopt a River" project last year. The main objective is to clean the rivers and identify the source of pollution to ensure that it is addressed. The "Adopt a River" project creates job opportunities for women and empowers them with skills, thus making them water ambassadors. We have created 595 job opportunities in Limpopo, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Free State, which were the pilot provinces.
The highlight is that women from the Isipingo project from KwaZulu-Natal initiated the growing of vegetable gardens along the river. They also contributed to resolving crime as they found a partly decomposed body as they were working. It is thus my pleasure to introduce to you, hon members, Charity Ruvimbo Mphaphuli from Limpopo, Alina Mofokeng from the Free State, Doreen Mandyundyu from the Eastern Cape, Zodwa Elizabeth Ndlovu from KwaZulu-Natal and Barbara Nocwaka Thandeki from the Western Cape. [Applause.] They are some of the women who participated in the "Adopt a River" project and are water ambassadors. They are our ambassadors. Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!]
HON MEMBERS: Igama lamakhosikazi! [The name of women!]
We will expand the project to include the remaining provinces. I repeat the call I made last year on you, hon members, to adopt rivers in your areas. We are ready to support your participation.
As a way of ensuring active participation by women in water resource management, we made a call to women out there to identify water-related challenges in their areas, conduct research, develop projects, and make recommendations to the department on how those challenges can be addressed. Four hundred and fifty projects were registered, support was provided and workshops were held. Eleven projects from six provinces won the 2010 awards. Malibongwe futhi, lamakhosikazi! [Let the name of the women be praised!]
HON MEMBERS: Malibongwe! [Let it be praised!]
We will provide ongoing support to existing projects for sustainability, whilst we mobilise new projects. I invite all of you, as Members of Parliament, to assist in mobilising women and the youth.
On International Women's Day we launched the accelerated development programme for lower-level women in our own department - from Levels 2 to 5 - with the objective of training them so that they could move from those levels to junior management and beyond, and be empowered with life skills, which will prepare them for life beyond employment and so that they may also become water ambassadors.
I would like to say regarding conservation that we are encouraging all industries that use water to recycle their water so that we will still have water in future. Everyone who uses water has to recycle it, and we are going to monitor this. Our Blue Scorpions will assist us to monitor water recycling.
In conclusion, I would like to announce that 23 700 jobs will be created through various programmes, and the department will also include military veterans in this. I would also like to thank the Minister for her sterling leadership, the staff for their ongoing support, our committee, which has been very supportive, and our former chair, Deputy Minister Sotyu here, whom we thank very much and who still supports us. Oh, has she left. I thank her in absentia then. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, since the establishment of democracy in South Africa, one of the greatest challenges has been to provide basic services and related infrastructure to the majority of South Africans. In 1994, the ANC-led government inherited a mixed, but rapidly deteriorating, infrastructure.
There was recognition by many that the economic infrastructure, with transport and electricity mainly in the urban areas, was fairly well developed. But the greater population, especially in the former homelands, did not have access to social and domestic infrastructure. In 1994, only 20% of rural dwellers had access to electricity, 35% to clean water, and 5% to adequate sanitation.
The ANC-led government began the difficult task in 1994 of working to address the apartheid imbalances in relation to a decent life for all. This meant that the majority of the citizens required access to electricity, water and sanitation. The executive and policy statements have strongly emphasised the nexus between infrastructure development and service delivery, mainly to the poor. The 2009, 2010 and 2011 state of the nation addresses have continually emphasised this. In relation to this priority, the necessary budget to ensure the realisation of service delivery has been allocated.
Furthermore, the creation of systematic institutional structures and, in this case, the infrastructure development cluster, focusing specifically on infrastructure development within a developmental agenda for the needs of South Africa, is testimony to the seriousness of government to focus not only on macroeconomic growth, but also to ensure the provision of jobs and good quality water service delivery to all its citizens.
One of the key premises of the work of the infrastructure development cluster is to devise corrective measures and interventions to enable government to ensure the maximum impact of infrastructure investment in economic growth and service delivery.
The infrastructure development cluster has a responsibility to focus on the following identified key challenges: an insufficient and inadequate infrastructure network; an uncompetitive environment and weak regulation; lack of infrastructure management and refurbishment; and operational inefficiencies.
The philosophy guiding the work of the infrastructure cluster can be broadly categorised in the following ways: understanding South Africa's developmental agenda which recognises the importance of infrastructure in increasing equality and meeting social and economic needs; recognising that the economic role and significance of infrastructure should not be accorded precedence over the other dimensions of sustainable development: the social, the cultural and the environmental aspects; investing in infrastructure to eliminate service backlogs in underserviced areas, especially the black townships and the rural areas in order to meet people's basic needs; recognising that basic infrastructure can also reduce poverty and contribute to job creation; and bearing in mind that access to water is a human rights issue provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
To this end, the government is biased towards the poor and most vulnerable people who have, in the past, been left to fend for themselves with minimal or no support from the apartheid government. As a legacy of apartheid, large dumping areas were created for the unemployed reservoir of people to be drawn on to feed an apartheid-structured labour market. In most instances, the very same people worked exceptionally hard to create and develop infrastructure for the more affluent in the urban areas. This begs the question of who benefited.
How, then, is the Department of Water Affairs translating the broad framework which guides the work of the infrastructure development cluster? The Department of Water Affairs has begun the enormous task of engaging in the development of creating sustainable water infrastructure to ensure effective service delivery.
The ANC-led government has made available resources to address this in terms of spending R30 million over the next five to eight years on continuing construction and on establishing a mega-water infrastructure project. This will increase the capacity of existing water resource infrastructure. These resources will also be used to increase water infrastructure, water coverage and maintenance. In fact, the need to roll out basic services and water supply in support of human settlement development, in line with the government's commitment of universal access to water by 2014, influenced the additional allocation to the Department of Water Affairs.
Currently, in relation to water services and infrastructure, the Department of Water Affairs has identified seven new augmentation water resource infrastructure projects to support the domestic, industrial, agricultural and energy sectors. In relation to Budget Vote No 38, the department has two clear priority programmes, that of water infrastructure management and regional implementation and support.
The expenditure to undertake the above objectives increased from R1,2 billion in 2007-08, to R2,2 billion in 2010-11, at an average annual rate of 23,6%. The following objectives and measures guide the work of this programme: ensure the availability of water supply for domestic use through the development of infrastructure by providing technical support to the municipalities to access potable water through the use of bulk infrastructure schemes by 2013-14; improve access to water for rural development and productive use; improve water use efficiency by implementing water conservation and demand management initiatives; and ensure the provision of institutional support to local government.
The expenditure to undertake the above objectives for regional implementation and support entails transfers to provinces and municipalities. The expenditure grew from R2,5 billion in 2007-08 to R4,4 billion in 2010-11.
The unequal distribution of water from dam sources to surrounding communities is a problem for the department. This serious indictment of the previous regime has resulted in the department creating a strategy to ensure access to water for the surrounding communities for basic use from dams and in order to ensure that the basic constitutional rights of these communities are fulfilled.
While the department acknowledges that a number of challenging and changing factors impact on balancing the needs for economic growth with the provision of water for use by citizens, it has begun the process of finding new and better initiatives of managing water and innovative approaches to better respond to the needs ...
Hon member, I am sorry to say that your time has expired.
Chairperson, the ANC supports the Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, it could be said, and in fact it has been said that right now South Africa is up the creek without a paddle. We are on the brink of a water crisis and we have no experts. Hon Minister, will the plans you have outlined be enough at this critical stage to avert a water crisis and the resulting hardships that it will cause?
According to reports, we have only three active limnologists, in other words, experts on reservoir lake management, and no tertiary courses on this subject. Clearly, experts must be sourced without delay and relevant courses must be made available through relevant institutions if we are to prevent polluted dams deteriorating further and becoming entirely useless. How has the budget accommodated this?
We are a very dry country and the little water we do have is being badly managed. Some 90 municipalities do not have a single professional water engineer, and very few have written operating procedures.
Right now, in the middle of this highly unsatisfactory situation, we are confronted with a decision by the University of Johannesburg to sever relations with Israel's Ben-Gurion University. How could this possibly be in the interests of the people of South Africa?
Denying the nation access to science and technology offered by leading institutions is absurd and all the more reprehensible as South Africa faces increasing challenges regarding our water supply. Has the Minister questioned this decision which negatively impacts on the department's ability to deliver on its mandate? Is the department working to help restore those relations?
This severing of ties happened at the University of Johannesburg while the university was benefiting from Israeli expertise in finding a method to clean the algae which infests much of South Africa's drinking water. Scientists, in the last few weeks, released an alarming report about the link between blue-green algae and Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and other debilitating diseases. The algae produce a neurotoxin known as BMAA, beta-methylamino-l-alanine, which is present throughout South Africa. Leading experts confirm that there is a near total lack of management to counter the problem and that the risks of damage via crops and livestock are not known yet.
The ACDP is very concerned about the challenges facing the department currently, but we will be supporting this Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]
Chairperson, regrettably, the Department of Water Affairs is in a soggy mess right now. Many of our colleagues have acknowledged the huge governance issues, and, while I acknowledge that the present Minister has inherited this unfortunate legacy, the buck stops with her. We have heard of the firing of one director-general, the suspension of the replacement, the suspension of the chief financial officer, and that the Department of Water Affairs now has an acting CFO.
The chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, made a joke at the Scopa hearings recently. He said the Department of Water Affairs is like the soapie Generations - full of actors. But, Minister, it is now well past the point of being a joke. It is a well-known fact that persons in acting positions do not always perform optimally and the ripple effect is that the department as a whole is underperforming and is demotivated.
During the Scopa hearing it emerged that the Department of Water Affairs was faced with many challenges, and I will mention a few. They did not have an accurate asset register. Translated into layman's terms, this means that they do not know what they own or where their assets are. Slow processing resulted in underexpenditure. An amount of R20 million was allocated to the Moutse bulk water supply project, but slow and delayed approval resulted in only R13 million finally being spent on the project.
An amount of R54 million meant for Giyani bulk water drought relief was reallocated to other projects because of a delay in the finalisation of the project. Lack of capacity resulted in the Acornhoek bulk water supply project, valued at R37 million, being put on hold. The contractor for this project is holding the department to ransom, and my question is: How did the department find itself in this position? I could go on and on, but I think the point has been made.
The United Nations recognises access to water and sanitation as a basic human right. Target 10 of Millennium Development Goal 7 is to halve the proportion of people without access to safe water and sanitation by 2015. South Africa is one of only 12 countries in which mortality rates for children have increased since the baseline for MDGs was set in 1990. In South Africa, almost 2 000 children die annually before they are one month old, and an additional 51 300 die between 29 days old and 5 years old.
The deadly cholera outbreak in Limpopo in 2008 is one example of poor quality management. South Africa's country report on the MDG says that we are not on track to achieve MDG 7 by 2015. Minister, given these startling statistics, given that one third of the eight Millennium Development Goals depend on water and that South Africa will be the focus of the world at COP 17, the 17th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, I suggest your department jacks up its act and addresses MDG 7 with greater urgency.
The department recently sent out a pamphlet on water-saving tips to commemorate International Water Week. I wish to share with you some gems of information. It advises one to "Look at the toilet pipes and Klepps." K-l-e- p-p-s! I'm assuming it should have read "clips". The "uranal", - u-r-a-n-a- l,"should rinse for six to eight seconds". I'm assuming that this is a reference to a urinal. And this one is classic:
If your garden needs less watering but deeper watering you are encouraging a deeper root canal which stronger plants will be a consequence. The usage can make some of the deeper plants more dependable.
What on earth do you think that means? I consider myself to be fairly literate and well read, but this tip left me high and dry. Minister, how much did this poorly spelt and grammatically error-riddled pamphlet cost? Who was its author? Who proofread it? Who authorised and signed off on it? I think it's a shame and an embarrassment to you, since it went out to at least 15 000 households in your name.
A recent report by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR, on water in South Africa highlights the deteriorating water quality in South Africa. It says that if we continue to operate on a business-as- usual approach, our freshwater resources will be fully depleted and unable to meet the needs of our people by 2030. That is indeed a scary thought.
Minster, the Department of Water Affairs is the custodian of South Africa's water resources. It is time to step up to the plate, protect it, and give real meaning to your slogan, "Some for all forever." Thank you. [Applause.]
Modulasetulo, mmmago rena Tona, Motlat?atona, Maloko a Palamente, baeng ba rena le ba?omedi ba Kgoro ya Merero ya t?a Meetse le Merero ya t?a Tikologo, ke a tami?a. Moetapele wa Mokgatlo wo mogolo wa badimo le batho, yo ebilego e le yena mookamedi wa naga ye, mohlomphegi Jacob Zuma, o nt?hit?e taelo ya gore ge re ?oma, re ?ome ka mokgwa woo e sego wa mehleng. Ge a re bjalo o be a e ra gore ge re aba ditirelo bathong ba gaborena, re seke ra ba tlailela. Re swanet?e go ba abela t?ona ka moo go tlet?ego.
Mopresidente o bolet?e gape a re ge re i?a meetse bathoing, re seke ra dira t?eo di bego di dirwa ke mmu?o wola wa maloba wa digatamarokgwana t?a dingangele t?eo e lego gore ge di be di re di i?a meetse bathong, di be di era ge di i?a meetse sehlophaneng sa magagabo bona seo ba tsebago ge e le bona batho ba le no?i gomme bont?i bja batho ba gaborena e le dit?hwene. Eup?a ba be ba ?omi?a bona batho ba gaborena go i?a t?ona ditirelo t?e dihlophaneng t?e, efela bona ba sa hwet?e ditirelo t?e. Dikudumela le mafogohlo ao a bana ba gaborena a be a felela matsogong a bana ba ba ?weu.
Seo se nkgahlago ka mmu?o wo wa rena wa ANC ke gore ... [T?hwahlelo.] O homole ke go bot?e. Mmu?o wo wa rena wa ANC ge o re o i?a ditirelo bathong ga o lore. Ge o bolela ka kabo ya ditirelo, o ?upa lefelo, gore tirelo e tla abiwa neng le gore ka bokae, gore mang le mang yo a nago le mahlo a iponele gape le yo a nago le ditsebe a ikwele. Efela yo a gopolago go se iponele goba go se ikwele, re bona e le le?ilo leo ge nkabe bo?ilo e le bolwet?i, re be ka mo i?a go Ngaka Tsiane a mo alafe. [Disego.]
Ke rata go t?ea sebaka se go laet?a ka moo Kgoro ye ya Merero ya t?a Meetse le Merero ya Tikologo yeo e etelet?ego pele ke mmago rena, Molewa, e swaraganego le wona mathata a go fa bana ba gaborena meetse. Tona, letsogo la gagwe le maloko a Palamente ba bolet?e. Nna ke tlo ritelet?a ke be ke laet?e le gore ka nnete ba be ba sa akaret?e. Ba be ba tloga ba laet?a gore ba ya lefelong le, ba yo dira sekete, le gore ka bokaaka.
Ke nyaka go bolela le ba thoba Mopani, Tzaneen. Ke rata go laet?a gore re a tseba gore ke kgale le bona letamo le legolo la Tzaneen le falala meetse efela meetse ao a sa fihle go lena a eya balemi?ing ba kgauswi ba maburu le ditoropong t?a Tzaneen. [Disego.] Bjale, mmu?o wa ANC o re re le bot?e gore o kwele sello sa lena, gomme letamo lela la Tzaneen le ilo godi?wa la ba letamo le legolo la go tsatsampela. [ Legofsi.] Mmu?o o re letamo leo le ka fela ka ngwaga wa 2017 goba 2018 ka t?helete ya go ka ba R2 dipilione.
Mmu?o wa ANC o bolela gape le batho ba Venda ka Letamo la Nandoni. Re a kwe?i?a gore go bile bo?aedinyana ka diphaephe letamong le la Nandoni leo le le bonago e le le legolo efela le sa hwet?e meetse go lona. Bjale, mmu?o o re o a di loki?a diphaephe t?e gomme o tla fet?a mo?omo wo ka 2013. T?helete ye e tlago fet?a mo?omo wo re ke R2 dipilione.
Mmu?o wa rena wa ANC o ya bathong ba Moutse moo ke t?wago gona. O re re le kwele batho ba Moutse gore ke kgale le bona meetse a et?wa ka letamong la Loskop gomme le ekwa ka modumo wa wona a feta ka morago ga lena a i?a meetse Groblersdal le Marble Hall. Bjale, mmu?o o re meetse ao a tla le fihlela le lena. Le kwele Motlat? atona o bolet?e ka taba ye. O rile meetse ao a ka fihla bathong ka ngwaga wa 2014. Mo?omo wo o ?et?e o thomile. Go dirwa dinyaki?i?o t?a kgonagalo ya tirelo. T?helete yeo e beet?wego modiro wo ke R380 dimilione.
Mmu?o wa ANC o a bu?elet?a o re le kwele lena batho ba Jozini kua KwaZulu- Natal. Ke kgale le lla le re le swerwe ke lenyora. Mmu?o o thomile go tli?a meetse moo Jozini. Re nyaka gore batho ba KwaZulu-Natal ba nwe meetse letamong le la Jozini. Mmu?o o re o tla be o fedit?e se sengwe le se sengwe ka 2014, gomme mang le mang o tla be a enwa meetse moo. T?helete yeo e tlago ?omi?wa go phethagat?a mo?omo wo ke R900 dimilione. Mmu?o wa ANC o re re le kwele batho ba Kapa Bohlabela gore ke kgale le lla le bona matamo a agiwa mafelong ao a sa holego batho ba bant?i ntle le bale ba bego ba ratwa ke mmu?o wa digatamarokgwana. Mmu?o wa ANC o re go na le lefelo le ba rego ke Mzimvububuvu moo e lego gore ge go ka agiwa letamo gona, taba ya gore Kapa Bohlabela ga e na meetse e ka ba ditoro. Mmu?o wa ANC o thomile ka dinyaki?i?o t?a kgonagalo ya tirelo. Mmu?o o re mo?omo wo o tla fela ka 2018 ka t?helete yeo e lekanago R2 pilione. [Legofsi.]
Mmu?o wa ANC o re lena batho ba Kapa Bophirima, re a tseba gore kua Beufort West go na le hlokego ya meetse. Re leka ka maatla bjalo ka mmu?o wa ANC gore re le fe meetse. Re tshepha gore Berg River Water Project e tla fela e se kgale. Le ?et? e le thomile go nwa meetse a go t?wa moo. Ge a ka se fihle malapeng a lena, le tsebe gore molato ga se wa rena eup?a ke wa Hellen Zille. Rena re mo file meetsemeetse. [Legoswi.] Yena o swanet?e go t?ea meetse ao gomme a le tli?et?e wona ka malapeng.
Mmu?o wa ANC o re gona kua Bopedi, Ga-Sekhukhune re le kwele. Mathata ao le nago le wona mmu?o o a bone. Mmu?o o ?et?e o thomile go dira ka bothakga gona ka kua letamong la De Hoop. Mmu?o o re o lahlela R203 dimilione Kgatong ya 2A go bona gore batho ba kua Ga-Sekhukhune ba hwet?a meetse. Mmu?o o swaragane le wona mmasepala wa selete sa Ga-Sekhuhune gore meetse a fihle bathong. Re leboga mmu?o wa ANC.
Tona ... (Translation of Sepedi paragraphs follows.)
[Mr P M MATHEBE: Greetings to the hon Chairperson, hon Minister, hon Deputy Minister, Members of Parliament, distinguished guests and the officials from the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs. The leader of the Majority Party, who is also the President of the country, hon Jacob Zuma, requested that we do things differently. All he meant was that we should deliver quality services to the public.
The President also mentioned that we should not repeat what was done by the previous government of stubborn people when delivering water services to the people. Water was available to their people only because those were the only people according to them. The rest of the people were just baboons to them, but they used the very same people when delivering services to their people. Our people were not getting those services. They worked very hard for the white people.
What I like about the ANC-led government is that ... [Interjections.] Keep quiet and listen. Our government, which is the ANC-led government, is delivering services to the people. Whenever the government is to deliver a service they will mention the name of the place, the date and the amount of money to be used. They are transparent about what they are doing so that the people can see and listen. Whoever chooses neither to see nor to listen will seem stupid to us and if that is a sickness, we will take that person to Dr Tsiane. [Laughter.]
I would like to take this opportunity to indicate how the Department of Water Affairs is addressing the challenge of delivering water services to the people under the leadership of hon Minister Bomo Edna Molewa. Hon Minister, the Deputy Minister and the hon Members of Parliament said a mouthful about that. I am only going to confirm what they said. They would indicate the name of the place, the purpose of the visit and the amount of money to be used.
I want to address the people of Mopani, Tzaneen. You always watched the big Tzaneen Dam flooding with water that was supplied to the local white farmers only, and not to you. The water was also channelled to the town of Tzaneen. [Laughter.] The ANC-led government is aware of that and the dam is now going to be enlarged. [Applause.] An amount of R2 million has been allocated to the project and it will be completed in 2017 or 2018.
The ANC-led government is also addressing the people of Venda about the Nandoni Dam. We understand that you could not get water from this dam because of the damaged pipes. The government is now repairing those pipes. The R2 billion project will be completed in 2013.
The ANC-led government is reaching out to the people of Moutse, where I come from. You always listened to the sound of water from the Loskop Dam flowing to Groblersdal and Marble Hall. The government promises to bring the water to you. The Deputy Minister touched on this issue. The project will be completed in 2014 and the research on the feasibility of the project is on. The money allocated to this project amounts to R380 million.
The ANC-led government is responding to the concerns raised by the people of Jozini in KwaZulu-Natal. The Jozini Dam has to supply water to the people of KwaZulu-Natal. The government promises to complete the project by 2014 and an amount of R900 million has been allocated to this project.
The ANC-led government is aware of the concerns by Northern Cape's people. You have seen the dams that were built to supply water to only those people who were favoured by the previous government. The ANC-led government wants to erect a dam in Mzimvubu to address the challenge of lack of water in the Northern Cape. The government is researching the feasibility of the project. This project will be completed in 2018 and it amounts to R2 billion. [Applause.]
The ANC-led government is aware of the water challenge in Beaufort West, Western Cape. We are trying our best to address this challenge. The Berg River Water Project will be completed soon. You are already drinking water from that river. Should the water not reach your houses, then you should know that it is Helen Zille's fault, and not our fault. We have provided the water, so it is now her responsibility to bring the water to your houses. [Applause.]
The ANC-led government has heard and seen the challenges of the people of Bopedi, Ga-Sekhukhune. The government is busy with the De Hoop Dam water project. The government is allocating R203 million to phase 2A to make sure that the people of Ga-Sekhukhune get the water. The government is working together with the Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality to take water to the people. We thank the ANC-led government.
Hon Minister ...]
... from what has been mentioned above, one can clearly see the difference between the ANC and other political parties. [Applause.] One can see that the ANC has a perspective which embraces all the people of this country. The ANC is compassionate and sympathetic to those who suffer; the ANC is compassionate and sympathetic to those without clean drinking water ... [Interjections.]
Ijoo! Nako e tloga e t?habile e le ka nnete! Morena Modulasetulo, le ge o ?et?e o nt?eet?e nako, e re ke re ... (Translation of Sepedi paragraph follows.)
[Oh, I do not have enough time available. Hon Chairperson, even if you used some of my time, let me indicate that ...]
... South Africa is not a water-rich country. Yet it still loses a lot of water through leaking pipes and inadequate infrastructure. Therefore, water infrastructure development is essential for both water-related service provision and the creation of employment opportunities, as observed by the hon President, Jacob Zuma, in his 2010 state of the nation address. Adequate water infrastructure, mostly dams and reservoirs, is essential to ensure the sustainability of water resources to overcome water-scarcity problems and to provide water-related services ... [Interjections.]
Ke a leboga, Modulasetulo. Ba ba kwati?a fela ke gore rena re fa meetse gomme Hellen Zille o palelwa ke go a i?a bathong. [Legofsi.] [Nako e fedile.] [Thank you, hon Chairperson. These people are angry about the fact that we are providing water, but Helen Zille cannot take the water to the people. [Time expired.] [Applause.]]
Hon Ellis, I thought I was going to break a record today of leaving this Chair without calling for order. Apparently, I was wrong. If awards were given for calling for order yesterday, I would have been given one, as members didn't want to listen to me.
I'm going to call upon the hon Minister to respond. Hon Minister, they've added five more minutes to your speaking time, giving you 10 minutes.
Ke a leboga Rre Modulasetulo. Le seka la rwala dilo tseo gonne ga ke ye go bua Setswana. [Thank you, Chairperson. Don't put on your earphones, because I'm not going to speak Setswana.]
I want to start by thanking profusely members of the portfolio committee under the able leadership of our chairperson. When it comes to being monitored by a leader of this nature, you can't go wrong. He gives you direction where you may be going wrong and in terms of what you should do. I think that's a lesson; that's what people should do. I thank him very much. I think our shadow Minister from the DA also learned a bit from you. Thank you very much. [Laughter.] [Interjections.]
Regarding fracking in the Karoo, we have not yet had any discussions about fracking in the Karoo. We read all about fracking in the Karoo in the newspapers. Even at other levels of meetings where we need to share information - involving the Minister of Mineral Resources - this has not happened.
What our role is as a collective - and this is what is required in terms of the law - is that every process entails public participation. When that process starts, the Department of Mineral Resources will be required to take that process through the public-participation process. There are very able men and women behind me here from this department, hon Dudley, who will also formulate our position and our thinking as Water Affairs when the time comes. I don't want to debate this matter in the public arena when I don't know who is starting it.
When the Minister puts it forward here, we will definitely say something about it, but not me. Why not me? Hon members, I wear two hats. The case in point may come to me for adjudication at some stage in my capacity as Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. Therefore, please don't compromise me. I would like to stay uncompromised. Let's go through the process of public participation as and when the process starts.
Regarding issues of water allocation, I would like to say that people who are saying water has been allocated to the tune of 98% in our country are right. However, there are entitlements. However, listen carefully when you go around. Just this week, for instance, I was in the Eastern Cape, where the Fish River farming community has been allocated entitlements. "Are they using these entitlements?" is a question I asked. No, they have not taken up that water usage. This means that there is water that has not been used.
Somewhere around this country there is an industry that needs growth and requires this water, but it is hoarded elsewhere. This is something that we are talking about when we refer to legislative review. We will do it sensitively with our good South Africanness, but we will direct where this water should be used because we need this water.
Concerning the issue of management in the department, I think we are the first, as the hon Chair said, to come to you and tell you what actions we are taking in this department. I would really appreciate it very much and would relax if I heard hon members saying, especially in the opposition, "Yes, we appreciate what you are doing", because you stand up and say the ANC is not doing anything about people who are corrupt in the departments.
When we do something, the hon Kalyan says that there is very, very serious chaos in the department. There is chaos, because there are people in acting positions or whatever. Of course, people must be put in acting positions when the management has been dismissed, or when management is still on trial. They have to be in those acting positions until the laws of this country allow us to be able to make appointments. At that time, we will definitely do so. The chief financial officer and the director-general have been released. We are advertising and we will fill those posts.
As a matter of fact, I can't function without four top managers, because they are not just seniors. They are the first four at the top. This is not something that people joke about. It's a serious matter. We intend to deliver as this department, and that's the direction we are going in. We would like to have your support, hon members, in all instances.
Coming to the skills shortage, I have my own argument with everybody and anybody who says "skills shortage". My gripe, my issue about the skills shortage in this department is that, yes, indeed, hon Dudley, there may be here and there a shortage of that particular skill that you raised, which we have to attend to. I agree. But I don't agree with the sweeping statement that there is a terrible skills shortage. I don't agree with that.
I do know the men and women that I work with every day. As a matter of fact, people who complain about the skills shortage are highly skilled people who are the capacity of this country, who we rely on. The issue is how we deal with our value chain in utilising our skills in the country. Do we utilise that correctly? Perhaps that's the issue, and that's the area we are attending to.
Let's not make sweeping statements all the time, and, of course, we are attending to our vacancy rate. It's not a nice thing to have to say that we are still below the limit that is allowed by the Department of the Public Service and Administration, DPSA. I should say this. It's not a nice thing to say, but, yes, we are dealing with that matter.
The issue of pollution in our water is a very, very serious thing. I think it has been raised by all the hon members who debated in this august House. We have raised it ourselves, and we are saying: Let us do something about it. The Green Drop and the Blue Drop issue, but particularly the Green Drop issue, is intended to deal with this challenge. Of course we do know where those people live. This is why the hon Deputy Minister is moving on this programme of saying, let us work together to sensitise our people to the need to actually identify those of our people who are polluting our water.
This thing that hon members call the "Green Scorpions", we call the compliance team. We have actually moved towards strengthening that compliance team by separating it from the other units. It is now going to be a stand-alone entity to do the work of monitoring whenever anything goes wrong with our water. And we will definitely take action. There is no doubt that we will take action everywhere we see fit. It is for that reason that we are not even hesitant to issue compliance notices to our own municipalities, but of course we have to help them and support them. In terms of the lack of engineers we have been complaining about, we might not be able to support our municipalities in that regard. But, as a matter of fact, we have 309 ...
Hon Minister, you have a minute left.
... engineers who are training right now. Fifty of them are ready to be deployed at municipalities, and 309 are already training at our institution.
Lastly, I think I should touch on the issue of acid mine drainage. Acid mine drainage is a serious issue. It didn't start now, but 17 years ago. It's been going on for a while. As we go back, we can't go and look at Aurora, which has only been operating for two weeks. Acid mine drainage has gone on for a very, very long time.
So, what we must do and what we are going to do, which Cabinet said we must do, is to investigate the operators who have been there, who may have to actually help deal with this problem, just as we did with the asbestosis case. It's not Aurora. We can't talk about an infant, when there are old daddies who have been in this area. [Interjections.] Those are the people involved. We will be nice to them, but the law is the law. We must deal with the issues of pollution in a forthright manner. Hon members, I thank you for the debate. Thank you, Chair. [Applause.]
Debate concluded.