Nearly R900bn needed to ensure water security in SA
Approximately R898 billion will be needed to ensure short, medium and long term water security in the country.
Launching the master plan at the CSIR Convention Centre yesterday, Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the plan already had R565bn available in funding.
However, the minister said more money was needed, and as such partnerships would be vital.
The plan outlines a series of urgent steps to be taken and implemented in order to address, among others, infrastructural challenges to secure continuous and uninterrupted water supply for both community and business use.
It also sets out the critical priorities to be addressed by the water sector in the period 2018 – 2030. These include structuring the department to make it fit for purpose, eliminate wastage and any loss due to corruption and mismanagement of resources.
It also aims to address the water and sanitation goals and to support the President’s Economic Stimulus and Recovery Plan, which has broad parts that include investing in municipal infrastructure and a fund.
Sisulu said the plan’s priorities were clustered into two sections – water and sanitation management and enabling environment.
She said as the water and sanitation sector, their job was to guarantee the availability of water and to assure investors that South Africa was open for business. “We also have to provide the same guarantee for our local businesses big and small, and our farmers. It is for that reason that we are launching this plan,” Sisulu said.
Read the full story on: IOL.