Hon Speaker, hon members, Phaphazela Village in rural Limpopo is a difficult place in which to live a dignified life. Here, villagers compete with animals for scarce water from dirty wells and distant taps.
Commentator Elmon Tshikhudo wrote last week in an online journal about his recent visit to this area. He encountered Ms Nkhensani Mabasa, a resident of the village, who said she had to leave her home at two in the morning to use a tap that was some distance away. "Our lives are at stake", said Ms Mabasa. "We travel in the dark and leave our properties at the mercy of criminals who know that we will be queuing for water", she said.
The irony is that the neighbouring Nandoni Dam is full to the brim with water, but local people suffer because they do not have access to the contents of that dam.
Granted, the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has appointed a new contractor to replace the substandard pipes that should have been providing water to this and other communities in the vicinity. These inefficiencies in government mean that the local people will have to wait even longer for clean water. The right to clean water, as espoused in our Constitution, is not yet a reality for these people. Let us acknowledge what the achievements are first.
At the dawn of democracy in 1994, almost 15 million people were without access to safe drinking water in South Africa. Today, that figure stands at 1,6 million people, still unacceptably high, but a reflection of success nevertheless. Of course, the statistic is of no comfort to the people of Phaphazela Village, which I have just mentioned. A lot of work still needs to be done.
By admission of the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs itself, the relentless focus on the provision of water to people who never before had access to water came at the cost of the department taking their eye off the ball on the maintenance of the existing infrastructure. Today we have a creaking infrastructure that is in desperate need of attention.
The DA believes that the provision of clean water is essential for human development and economic growth. The provision of clean water improves health, especially for the large portion of our population that is immunocompromised. Easy access to water allows our people, especially in rural areas, to be able to devote more time to other productive activities, rather than walking considerable distances to find water. It thus enhances opportunities. And the provision of water is important for growing economic development and the maintenance of food security. When allocating water, we need to ensure at all times that the ecological reserve is not compromised and that we satisfy human requirements. Thereafter, allocations are made in such a way that maximises growth and development.
We must not take our water for granted; it is a precious resource. We are the 30th driest country in the world, and if statistics are to be believed, already 98% of the available water in South Africa has been allocated. It is therefore critical that water governance is of the highest standard.
Our new Minister has an important task, but sadly, she inherited the Water department which is in turmoil. The director-general was suspended last year and has now been dismissed for several financial governance irregularities. A recent Attorney-General's report painted a damning picture of over R1 billion of financial irregularities. Last week, the acting DG and chief financial officer, CFO, were also suspended amid new allegations of financial irregularities. The Minister must ensure that her top team in the department is made up of competent and skilled technocrats. The water sector can ill-afford redeployed politicians to fill these positions.
So what of the state of the infrastructure? There are 65 national schemes where raw water is collected and transferred from one catchment to another, and at least 185 bulk schemes where raw water is collected and delivered within a catchment. These exclude the infrastructure in South Africa managed by the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority and the Komati River Basin Water Authority.
We can be proud of the engineering feats of the last century, but must be conscious of preserving what we have while we continue to add to the asset base.
The age profile of the infrastructure indicates that the majority was constructed in the 1970s and 80s, with much of the assets being between 30 and 40 years old, and some up to 100 years old. The majority of infrastructure is in a fair or good condition, at least for the moment. However a large portion of the infrastructure is in a poor or very poor condition. In this regard it must be stressed that very few dams are in a good condition, and urgent and ongoing rehabilitation is required. Most of the infrastructure assets are near optimal capacity and therefore the conditions or infrastructure integrity is critical to ensure continual water supply.
Funding challenges for the water sector are immense. The department estimates that in order to cater for infrastructure backlog and some refurbishment requirements, R113 billion is required. Over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, period we are in, only 5% of this amount has been allocated. Yes, funds are scarce but water is the foundation for life and development, and Treasury is going to need to increase its allocation.
The waste water sector is in a critical need of attention. A day does not go by when, as a Member of Parliament, I do not receive a report from a member of the public about another failing waste water treatment or a sewage spill.
Notwithstanding the impressive initiatives such as the Green Drop report intended to improve ongoing performance of the more than 800 plants, the trends in performance are getting worse, not better. Thirty per cent of the plants require immediate attention to avoid the outbreaks of waterborne diseases.
In the North West and Free State provinces, 100% and 99% of the waste water treatment works, respectively, are noncompliant with effluent standards, while in the Eastern Cape 95% of the plants have flows that are unknown or exceed the design capacity.
It is important to highlight waste water infrastructure as its general poor state impacts on the quality of bulk water in South Africa. The purification costs of drinking water are steadily increasing, as testified by many water boards, as the water is increasingly requiring more intense treatment due to pollution from sewage predominately, but also from mining and agricultural run-offs. So what to do?
Besides finding more money and ensuring that money is correctly spent, the Minister also needs to deal with the skills crisis in the water sector. More than 120 municipalities in South Africa are at high risk or critical when it comes to lack of skills in the water sector. At the end of last year there were 210 vacant posts for civil engineers in the national department. We need these positions to be filled, and government must make these positions attractive and reward skilled people. Improved planning is needed. New developments should not be approved without the required bulk infrastructure in place.
We need ring-fencing of municipal income grants where a certain percentage of funds have to be spent on water infrastructure, and not on the nonessentials that so many municipalities choose to waste funds on; as well as creative funding solutions; the use of public-private partnerships and expanding the mandates of the 14 water boards to service larger areas as possible solutions as well; fixing the badly managed water trading entity and ensuring that fees are collected from water users. Billing problems in the water trading entity are immense, and the department cannot even be sure that what it is billing for are the correct amounts. We need to review tariffs to ensure that water is correctly priced, and so that fees are sufficiently contributing to the maintenance and building of new water infrastructure. But mostly we need political will and leadership. The water sector will not tick along by itself. In fact it is teetering on the precipice. Getting this right is important for human health development and economic growth. If taps run dry, it will make electricity load shedding look like a Sunday school picnic. I thank you. [Applause.]