The SA government, which is facing a range of socioeconomic challenges including low economic growth and high unemployment and interest rates, plans to spend almost R80bn to address the water challenges dogging one of Africa’s largest and most diversified economies.
Addressing the media on Thursday about the outcome of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the cabinet received an overview of responses by the department of water & sanitation to water and sanitation challenges in the country.
SA is a water-scarce country and its economic and financial hub, Gauteng, which contributes nearly 40% to national GDP, has not been spared.
Water challenges in the province led to Johannesburg Water banning irrigation or watering of gardens and cleaning driveways and patios with hosepipes in October 2022. Overuse of water in the province put a strain on the water network and resulted in Rand Water informing customers of the need to restrict water supply as demand increased.
Rand Water is crucial to the economy as it supplies the Gauteng metros of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and the capital city Tshwane, local municipalities, mines and other industries, as well as parts of Mpumalanga, North West and the Free State with an average of 3.653-million litres of drinkable water daily.
Addressing a mini-plenary of the National Assembly in his budget vote speech in May, water & sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu said municipalities owed water boards R16.7bn, while municipalities and the water boards owed the department (which has its own water trading entity) R17.4bn. “What is most worrying is that these debts are escalating rapidly, and this poses a grave risk to the financial sustainability of the water sector,” he said.
Ntshavheni said the overview by the water & sanitation department highlighted the acceleration of surface water resource projects such as:
- Construction of the R40bn Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project which will serve Gauteng and surrounding provinces. Work will be completed in 2027.
- The R4bn Phase 2A of the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project in North West and Limpopo. Funding is being raised for another phase on which construction will start in May 2024, with completion planned for 2030.
- In a partnership between the government and mining sector, construction is under way on the R24bn Olifants River Water Resource Development project in Limpopo, with completion expected in 2030.
- In a similar partnership with mines in the Northern Cape, construction will start later this year on the R10bn Vaal Gamagara project. Completion is also expected around 2030.
- Construction started this month (June 2023) on the R500m Groot Letaba Water Augmentation Project in Limpopo which entails raising the Tzaneen Dam. Work on this project will be complete in 2025.
- In the Western Cape, construction will begin in 2024 on the R1.2bn Voëlvlei Augmentation Scheme. Completion is expected in 2026.
Ntshavheni said: “These projects are securing the supply of water to the nation and in this process thousands of people will be employed, businesses around the construction sites will benefit from the consumption of workers and contractors, and the improved infrastructure will benefit local economies.”
Water is key to several big industries, with agriculture using about 60% of all available water in the country for irrigation.
In SA’s largest and richest metro of Johannesburg, which has a budget of R80.9bn for the 2023/24 financial year, Johannesburg Water was allocated R15.6bn for operational requirements and R3.1bn for capital expenditure (R2.6bn for water and R514m for sewerage).
Johannesburg Water MD Ntshavheni Mukwevho told a media briefing in 2022 that the metro is set to spend R340m over the next three years to jack up its infrastructure to ensure a continuous supply of water to the metro’s 6-million residents.
Ntshavheni said cabinet approved the submission of the draft National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency (NWRIA) Bill to parliament. The bill proposes forming the NWRIA to be responsible for the planning, financing and development of the country’s water infrastructure, she said.
“It will also be responsible for the maintenance of the current water resource infrastructure. The agency is to ensure a sustainable, equitable and reliable supply of water in line with constitutional obligations of access to water and a secure, healthy environment.”
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