Hon Deputy Speaker, the hon member's question is indeed directed at the right issue. The Department of Water Affairs is the regulator and as the regulator we were not caught by surprise; we have actually been carrying out the Blue Drop and Green Drop certification programmes on a yearly basis.
We, as the regulator, realised that there were some weaknesses there, and again we did not sit back. We have put in place mechanisms to deal with the challenges that the hon member referred to. In ensuring that there is a response, we have actually introduced a mechanism to clean up the systems where those microbiological challenges occur, so that right from the pipelines and throughout the systems the bacteria present in that area are eliminated. Therefore, as the regulator we have not sat back and done nothing; we have implemented programmes to rectify the problems.