Speaker, hon members, given the country's history and the systematic manner in which the majority of the people were denied access to even the most basic human needs, drafters of the Constitution wanted to make sure that the democratic government took steps to meet these needs. Access to water is therefore a human rights issue provided for in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
With respect to each of these basic rights, the Constitution says:
The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of these rights.
To this end, the government is biased towards the people and the most vulnerable people who have in the past been left to fend for themselves with minimal or no support from the apartheid government. They are to be found in rural areas which, as a legacy of apartheid, were created as large dumping areas for the unemployed and reservoirs to be drawn upon to feed an apartheid-structured labour market.
Somlomo, uMthethosisekelo wethu ukubeka ngokusobala ukuthi wonke umuntu unelungelo lokuthola ngokwanele ukudla namanzi. Yingakho lohulumeni oholwa nguKhongolose ukwazile ukunikezela ngamanzi ahlanzekile kubantu abangama- 88% ngonyaka ka-2007 kusuka kuma-62% kusukela ngonyaka ka-1996.
Lezi zinhlelo ziphumelele ngoba beziqondiswe ngqo kubantu abahluphekile. Njengamanje inkinga esasele nohulumeni azimisele kakhulu ngayo ngeyokudluliselwa kwamanzi kulabo abangawatholi kahle okungabantu abasemaphandleni, le konja ayiphume, ukwenza isiqiniseko ukuthi bayawathola amanzi ahlanzekile.
Njengoba sazi sonke ukuthi kunemifula emikhulu ehlale igcwele amanzi kodwa abantu abahlala eduze kwayo abanawo amanzi. Kunalokho lawo manzi ayadluliswa ngemishini emikhulu, aye emadamini amakhulu ayophakela abantu basemadolobheni. Abantu abasezindaweni ezinjengoMsinga lapho ngiphuma khona bangabi nawo amanzi ngemifula yabo uThukela neMpofana.
Kusenenkinga enkulu yokudlulisela amanzi kubantu njengoba kwenzeka koJozini lapho uhulumeni wobandlululo akha khona amadamu amakhulu ayewasebenzisela ezolimo kuphela abantu bangawatholi. Siyabonga kakhulu kulo hulumeni kaKhongolose ukuthi usekwazile ukuba enze izinhlelo zokuthi lawo madamu avulwe ukuze asetshenziselwe ukudlulisela amanzi kubantu njengoba sibona eJozini. [Ihlombe.](Translation of isiZulu paragraphs follows.)
[Speaker, our Constitution states clearly that every person has the right to have access to food and water. That is why this ANC-led government has managed to provide clean water to 88% of the people in 2007, which is an increase from 62% in 1996.
These programmes succeeded because they were specifically intended for poor people. Now the only problem that the government is prepared to resolve is that of distributing water to people in the rural areas who do not have access to clean water.
As we all know, there are big rivers always full of water, but people who stay near those rivers do not have access to clean water. That water is channelled by big machines to big dams to supply water to the people in the cities. People in areas like Msinga, where I come from, do not have access to water from their rivers, namely uThukela and Mpofana.
There is still a big problem with regard to water distribution to people. This is happening in Jozini where the apartheid government built big dams which were used for agricultural purposes only, but people were not supplied with water. We are very grateful that the ANC-led government has managed to put programmes in place for those dams to be reopened and used for distributing water to people, as we are witnessing in Jozini. [Applause.]]
The ANC-led government's position is that the country's economic growth target and the sustainability of water resources are not mutually exclusive and that the supply and demand must be determined in a compatible manner. Otherwise serious shortfalls will occur, creating instability and no economic growth and threatening scarce water resources.
UMongameli wezwe ubaba uMsholozi, kwinkulumo yakhe yesizwe yonyaka odlule ka2009 uqinisekile ukuthi iNingizimu Afrika iyizwe elomile, elinamanzi angenele futhi elidinga ukuba liqasheliswe ngeso lokhozi, ukuthi noma sinamanzi angenele kodwa kumele sabelane ngawo kuzo zonke izakhamizi. Kulesi sikhathi ukuze sihlangabezane nanezidingo zokukhula komnotho ngaphandle kokuhlukumezeka kwemvelo nokuvikela amanzi, siwagcine ekhona futhi siwonge. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[In his state of the nation address last year - in 2009 - the President, Msholozi, confirmed that South Africa is a drought-prone country, with not enough water. This means that water needs to be saved. Even though we do not have enough water, we have to share it amongst all communities during this time so that we can meet the needs of economic growth without abusing the environment - and saving water in the process. Keep it and save it.]
South Africa is a dry country with a low average and high variability of rainfall in most areas. The available freshwater resources are already almost fully utilised and under stress, and demand is outstripping supply in most catchments. Access to potable water remains the most worrying constraint for many rural people. Many of them spend several hours a day securing supplies. At the projected population growth and economic development rates, it is unlikely that the projected demand on water resources in South Africa will be sustainable. Water will increasingly become a limiting resource in South Africa and supply will become a major restriction to the future socioeconomic development of the country in terms of quantity and quality. At present, many water resources are polluted by industrial effluents, domestic and commercial sewage, acid mine drainage, agricultural run-off and litter.
Evidence is becoming clearer that global climate is a threat to sustainable development that could undermine global poverty alleviation efforts and have severe implications for food security, clean water, energy supply, environmental health and human settlements. The most obvious impact of climate change worldwide will be extreme weather events occurring more frequently and becoming more severe. In South Africa, the rise in average temperatures will cause access to freshwater resources to decline while higher rates of evaporation due to high temperatures will lead to more severe droughts on the one side of the planetary water cycle and more severe floods on the other.
As Africans, we remain deeply concerned by climate change. The continent is particularly vulnerable to changes in climate, which have a profound impact on issues like food security, economic viability, biodiversity and access to water. The ANC resolved in Polokwane that we should recognise that climate change is a new threat on a global scale and poses an enormous burden upon South Africans and Africans. The central message is that we have to use our limited water supplies more efficiently and effectively. Our celebration of water as a source of life must translate into practical actions aimed at ensuring that we do indeed use our limited water supplies carefully.
Population growth and changes in demographics such as people moving from rural to urban areas and smaller households mean that government must continue to provide infrastructure for more people, and in new areas. We must therefore provide and plan infrastructure development and look at alternatives in a manner that does not endanger future generations.
Regional bulk water services infrastructure plays a key role in bringing water services to all the people in South Africa. Due to the size and extent of such infrastructure, it plays a vital role in achieving an integrated socioeconomic development.
The implementation and management of regional bulk water services infrastructure is guided, impacted and driven by various factors, including water availability and scarcity. The scarcity and availability of water demands that water must be brought over substantial distances to serve communities in an integrated manner. Without such bulk infrastructure, internal services are not possible or sustainable.
It is therefore clear that accelerated investment in water infrastructure is needed to overcome internal barriers that are likely to retard South Africa's productive potential. Such investment will contribute to growth and poverty reduction and an increase in agricultural productivity and subsequently to the achievement of the millennium development goals, MDGs. By 2005, this government had already achieved the MDGs of halving the proportion of people who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water by 2015.
Asikho isidingo sokusebenzisa izigidi zemali ukufakela amapayipi nokudlulisela amanzi bese sivumela ukuthi ingqalasizinda yethu yonakale ibe sesimweni esibi futhi ilinyazwe. Kumele ingqalasizinda yethu ihlale isesimweni esamukelekile futhi inakekelwe. (Translation of isiZulu paragraph follows.)
[There is no need to use millions of rands for infrastructure to distribute water and then to allow it to be destroyed and to fall into a state of disrepair. Our infrastructure needs to be maintained so that it remains functional.] The phrase "water for development" refers to the critical role of water in poverty alleviation and people's constitutional right to have reliable access to safe drinking water. Speeding up the delivery of infrastructure and providing for the maintenance thereof is therefore a major part of the ANC-led government's programme. The objectives are to move faster towards getting rid of social backlogs by making sure that everyone has access to water and sanitation. This should be done in a way that reaches the poor and builds integrated and viable communities.
There are still millions of people who do not have access to clean running water and sanitation, and infrastructure programmes must ensure that we get rid of these backlogs so that every citizen can enjoy these services. Ngiyabonga. [Thank you.] [Applause.]