Hon Speaker, the greatest threat to water quality in South Africa is the failing waste water treatment infrastructure. There are 852 waste water treatment works in the country and a significant number of them are in a poor state, releasing partially treated sewerage into the environment.
The last Green Drop Report, which assesses the level of compliance of these plants against various criteria, was released on 29 April 2010. In that report it was revealed that only 32 waste water treatment works in South Africa received the acclaimed Green Drop status. As waste water plants are operated by municipalities, it is critical that voters are able to determine the degree to which the municipalities they live in have effectively managed these systems.
For this reason the DA calls on the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to release the Green Drop Report, currently scheduled for release on 30 June this year, before the local government elections on 18 May.
Poorly functioning plants can affect the quality of water use for agriculture, and are drawn upon directly by some poor communities that do not yet have access to potable water.
Late last year the DA asked the former Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs whether information on waste water plants could be provided in a systematic way. The Minister said that no such information was available to the public and the reason she cited was that to provide this information would be administratively burdensome and the results could be open to serious misinterpretation. These arguments by the former Minister were unfortunate and undermine the rights of citizens to access this information.
The Green Drop Report is all that is available and, at best, it provides a snapshot of performance over an extended period of time. As things stand now, voters will go to the polls on 18 May having a report which is out of date. I thank you. [Applause.]