Hon Chairperson, Minister Molewa, Ministers and Deputy Ministers, hon members of the portfolio committee, MECs and mayors, chairpersons of nongovernmental organisations, NGOs, CEOs of water entities, NGOs and distinguished guests, we know that infrastructure is one of the important parts of delivering water. As we announced last year about the infrastructure for the Nandoni Dam, I would like to update you that the pipeline construction that will help supply water from the Nandoni Dam to the communities around the Vhembe district has almost been completed.
The municipalities are currently busy with water reticulation through MTWA pipelines to supply communities. We will support municipalities with capacity to deliver on this important task. Also, the Mamitwa Dam, which was announced during 2012-13, has now gone through the environmental impact assessments, EIAs, and detailed plans are now being finalised, to be followed by construction soon.
In the past financial year the department took water conservation to higher levels. We developed water conservation strategies for domestic, agricultural, mining and industry water use, as we know that these sectors are major consumers of our water resources. They have been involved in the development of our National Water Resource Strategy, and some have even partnered with the department in funding some of our programmes.
Allow me to share with you some of the programmes that our department and partners have been implementing in the past financial year. With reference to the outcome of the results published by the Water Research Commission that so many have alluded to, we have now intensified one of our successful programmes, the War on Leaks project. The programme reduces unaccounted-for water through leaking pipes and taps, creates awareness among the users about using water efficiently, provides job opportunities, and equips our youth with skills that can be used in the job market. It doesn't help just to fix and not educate the communities on water conservation. So, those who are fixing must also educate the households they are assisting.
This programme would not have been successful without the political leadership. I have heartwarming examples of how this simple and community- based programme has worked so well in the Northern Cape, where we did door- to-door visits, educating household users about water conservation and fixing water leaks. Ms Louise Mouers, in the Northern Cape, will recall how we practically fixed a leaking tap and toilet in her house. In the Randfontein Local Municipality our water conservation warriors visited and educated 3 017 households about water conservation. This door-to-door campaign is not about mobilising votes; it is about service delivery on the ground.
With the limited funding mainly coming from the municipalities, we have created 70 job opportunities and facilitated accredited training for water conservation warriors. We are on a clear path to extending the implementation of this programme in 9 municipalities within the 24 priority district municipalities prioritised by our Cabinet. About 300 jobs will be created from this programme.
We are deeply indebted to and humbled by the continued support from our partners - Eskom, Sasol, municipalities, water boards and communities, to name but a few. Water conservation is one of the strongest pillars of our National Water Resource Strategy. We will continue to call for more partnerships for this programme.
We will continue with our Blue Bus campaign themed "Be Water Wise", which is aimed at creating awareness and educating South Africans about water use efficiency. We have mobilised artists acting in Muvhango, Tshisa, Home Affairs officials, members of society and others to be our water ambassadors using the Blue Bus. We are using other creative ideas to interact with communities, like industrial theatre, and these have proved to be effective tools of communication. The success of our campaigns can be seen by the implementation of water conservation projects by various sectors. Annually, the department gives awards to municipalities, mines, industries, and organisations in recognition for outstanding water conservation projects.
Last year I reported that the department is involved in various interventions in partnership with district municipalities to ensure that communities have access to clean drinking water. During National Water Week 2013 we handed over the R18 million Mukula Bulk Water Supply project to the late Chief Takalani and the Mukula community. Unfortunately, he died just a week after we handed over this project. May his soul rest in peace. This project supplies safe drinking water to 17 villages. A total of 45 locals were employed during the implementation of this project. The project was jointly funded by the department and the Vhembe District Municipality. Our partnership with traditional leaders yields great results. I intend to work with all local leaders and communities to address the new challenge of the vandalisation of infrastructure. A sustainable solution to protect community assets comes from communities themselves. The role of traditional leaders in service delivery cannot be underestimated.
We have been working with the Department of Science and Technology and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to investigate appropriate technologies for providing safe drinking water in rural areas. The first phase was successfully implemented in the Amathole and O R Tambo District Municipalities in the Eastern Cape, which provided communal water stations that benefitted 8 989 people. This project is a good example of how community-based knowledge can be merged with modern technology for sustainability.
Experience from this project has formed a good basis for phase two, which is currently being undertaken at 11 sites across Limpopo and Mpumalanga. These projects will reach approximately 25 000 people. The exciting part is that phase two will also tackle the operation and maintenance of infrastructure, which is a national problem that is a threat to our water infrastructure.
In last year's address, we indicated that we would provide hands-on support to the 24 district municipalities with water services backlogs. I am happy to report that the department, in conjunction with municipalities, conducted a study to assess communities without water supply. A comprehensive report that indicates areas without water and nonfunctional infrastructure has been developed. These studies led to the municipal water infrastructure grant that the Minister referred to.
We have now brought rural women on board to prove that water resource management is not for engineers and scientists only. People with indigenous knowledge have a key role to play, hence the conceptualisation and implementation of the Adopt-a-River project. Hon member Koornhof, I thought you were worried about this. We are doing that. This project aims to clean polluted rivers whilst creating job opportunities and facilitating skills development for women also. It also educates communities residing along river catchments about the importance of water conservation. During the 2012-13 financial year 24 rivers were cleaned and 1 148 job opportunities for women were created.
Last year I made the announcement that we would put some of these women in our skills development programme to tell the story that they were once river cleaners, but are now scientists. I am proud to report to you that 44 women who will go through our programme will be awarded bursaries in this financial year to study at universities and further education and training colleges. [Applause.]
I also need to convey appreciation for the partnership and support from the Birchwood Hotel that adopted the Modderfontein River in Ekurhuleni. This is indeed a good example of goodwill from our partners in the private sector, especially the hospitality industry. We are calling more of them to come on board.
A total of 181 women from various municipalities in the Western Cape were trained as plumbers. They will be part of the War on Leaks programme in their respective municipalities. This milestone has been achieved through our partnership with the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the University of Stellenbosch. Furthermore, 214 women from the nine provinces have been trained as process controllers. I extend a big thank you to the Local Government Sector Education and Training Authority, LGSeta, for funding this project. We will continue with the Women in Water Awards, which is our annual event recognising outstanding women's projects aiming at addressing water challenges in their respective areas.
During Women's Month we will host the Women Mayors' Dialogue to encourage them to champion water conservation and environmental women and youth projects in their respective municipalities. We will continue with our 2020 Vision Programme that educates Grade R to 12 learners about integrated water resource management, climate change and the environment, including water-related careers. We are grateful to our partners, which are the Department of Basic Education, the MTN Foundation, the Birchwood Hotel, Sasol, the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa, Wessa, water boards and the Rand Water Foundation.
Our youth will converge again during the annual Youth Water Summit to present their action projects undertaken during the course of the year. They will also go on excursions to Rand Water, the Roodeplaat Dam and the South African Weather Service. Through this programme we have achieved the following. In partnership with the MTN Foundation, we handed over 1 200 computers to 60 schools, connected them to the Internet and equipped them with mathematics and science programmes for learners. Learners from rural schools can now connect with the world.
During 2012 youth from various countries on the continent attended the Youth Summit and developed the Africa Youth Water Strategy, which is one of the projects of the African Ministers' Council on Water, Amcow. This strategy will be launched during this year's Youth Summit, which is still to be held.
Through partnership with Wessa, we will implement the eco schools project targeting the national winners of various projects of the 2020 Vision programme. They will develop and implement action plans to address the water- and environment-related challenges in their respective schools and communities. They will participate in this project for three years. A curriculum aligned with water-related educational resource materials for Grades R to 9 learners has been developed.
In partnership with Sasol and the Metsimaholo Municipality, we implemented the War on Leaks project called Busa Metsi in 21 schools. Also, 89 bursaries have been awarded to learners for participating in the projects of the 2020 Vision programme to study water-related careers. This programme also serves as an incubator for our learning academy, which the Minister has alluded to.
Food and water security are inextricably linked. As a result, this government has taken a nexus approach, whereby the interdependency between water and food security is central in all interventions and plans. We provided support to 1 559 resource-poor farmers through the provision of irrigation pumps, the installation of hydroponic tanks, water supply and storage, operation and maintenance and subsidies on water use. We provided 4 068 rainwater harvesting tanks to schools and households.
In our quest to deliver clean drinking water, to eradicate water leaks and to conserve our water resources, we established partnerships with the following stakeholders: the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Science and Technology, municipalities, water boards, the MTN Foundation, Sasol, Eskom, Wessa, the Birchwood Hotel, the SA Cities Network, the Rand Water Foundation and many others. I am through. I thank the Minister for her leadership, the staff, the director-general and all the partners. Thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]