Chair, it goes without saying that the water sector is underfunded in South Africa. That is not the reason the DA opposes this budget. There are several other departments which could do with more funds. The problem with the Department of Water Affairs is that its outcomes are poor, its long-term planning is abysmal, and its ability to enforce the provisions of the National Water Act is weak.
There is a skills crisis in this department, and no discernable plan to fill the vacancies, despite the commitments of the Water Sector Leadership Group. Over 200 posts for civil engineers are vacant, which is about two thirds of the full complement needed. Notably, the director-general of this department has been on special leave, on full pay, for more than 10 months now, with no end in sight.
While the acid mine drainage below the city of Johannesburg rises by 15 metres a month and while acid mine drainage is already decanting into the Tweelopiespruit, the department has, at best, come up with short-term solutions, albeit very tenuous ones, to deal with the disaster that acid mine drainage will cause in Gauteng and the surrounding provinces. Despite the first warnings of acid mine drainage problems emerging more than a decade ago, there is still no acceptable response to it. Added to that, more than 100 mines in South Africa are still operating without water licences and hence, are in transgression of the National Water Act.
While we welcome the earmarked funds for enforcement and compliance, and eagerly await the results, it is simply woeful that there are only 14 accredited Blue Scorpions in South Africa. The number of transgressions by municipalities when it comes to the discharge of sewage into the environment is substantial and growing. There is no doubt that we are facing localised water quality crises. Madibeng municipality and the sewer that the Hartbeespoort Dam has become is just one example.
The enforcement protocols by this department are weak and must be improved, but that will require political will. Who will step up to the plate? We will see over the coming year. The DA does not support this Budget Vote.