South Africa’s antiquated water infrastructure across most municipalities is a manifestation of years of neglect and lack of investment, which leaves some community members without a water supply.

In an interview with IOL, Dr Ferrial Adam, executive manager of WaterCAN, said South Africa has not made adequate investments towards infrastructure development.

“It is the symptom of a bigger cause. I think the failing infrastructure is a result of poor government and leadership, which results in poor infrastructure. If they had spent the money they needed to on the upkeep of our infrastructure, we would not be in the mess we are in right now,” she said in an interview.

“When they say it is infrastructure, they also need to own up that it was poor decisions made by people in positions of power. It is a human-caused problem.”

She said, given the context of poor infrastructure, South Africa is not doing very well in terms of water supply to all communities.

“Even when you look at government statistics, half of our drinking water systems are not fit for drinking. It is not clean drinking water. The other issue is that there is an increase in the number of people who are now relying on rivers and streams as their only sources of water. In terms of that, I do not think we are doing very well,” she said.

WaterCAN is a growing network of citizen science activists who are committed water guardians and willing stewards advocating for clean, safe, and sustainable water. 

Adam said upgrading the failing water infrastructure cannot be left to municipalities to fix on their own.  

“I also think it cannot be left to the Department of Water and Sanitation alone. Water is so important that it needs a combination of departments; it needs a combination of voices. There needs to be a concerted effort of voices saying we need to fix this, and I do not see that right now,” she said.

“Also, the way our different layers of government are structured creates a false belief that the national government cannot intervene or do anything. I do think that the state of our water infrastructure demands that we all have to be involved, and it cannot be left solely to the government, as we see they are failing across the country.”

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Adam said blaming the ballooning populations in urban provinces and cities is a convenient excuse.

In her view, Adam said administrations must have planned for the population growth and implemented measures to cater for the increased number of residents and visitors.

“That is another thing they use to distract. For me, population does not increase overnight. We do not wake up, and there are a million more people. The population is gradually increasing, and those in governance need to make proper plans for that. The inadequacy shows that in the past 10 years, they did not plan,” she said.

“When those in governance start blaming the people, it annoys me so much. It is always someone else, the infrastructure, and it is never them. Government needs to take responsibility and say – Actually it is our fault.”

On the other hand, renowned water management expert, Professor Anja du Plessis, attached to the University of South Africa, told IOL that it is not all doom and gloom.

“If we look at our water infrastructure as a whole, especially municipalities that are in local government, it is neglected and in many instances inadequate. The infrastructure is in a poor state, some areas are worse than others, some areas have older infrastructure than others,” she said.

The academic said some infrastructure has become neglected due to lack of requisite maintenance, with the money being diverted into other projects. 

“That is why the National Treasury, the DWS (Department of Water and Sanitation), as well as experts like myself, have all been calling for the ring-fencing of funds, and at least that is happening now. If you look at what is currently happening in the City of Joburg, there is still water throttling, in some instances, there is poor response to reported leaks and pipe bursts,” she said.

“But at least it is not a state which is described as a collapse. If it were a collapse, then nothing would be happening. I think we should not paint it as such a dire situation, that everything is collapsing, falling apart all around us. 

“Yes, the infrastructure is in a neglected and poor state but if you go to other towns which are not metros, they have less funds available to them. Unfortunately the situation is even worse there. People are living with sewage running in the streets, in some instances it runs through people’s houses” she said.

The academic highlighted that, in terms of government seeking all-encompassing solutions and stakeholder engagement, the administration led by Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, has been outstanding.

“I think we need to acknowledge Minister Majodina and her team. They are passionate and very capable in the Department of Water and Sanitation. They do have a plan for increasing our bulk infrastructure, building more dams, but we have to address our sewage crisis. Our rivers at this point are an open sewer, most of them, and that needs to be addressed,” said Du Plessis.

Last year, IOL reported that the then Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, said South Africa will need R90 billion a year to fix the country’s neglected infrastructure.

He said they were doing everything to ensure there was a constant water supply to communities.

But in instances where there is no water supply, water tankers are being used.

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Mchunu, who was replying to a written parliamentary question from EFF MP Khanya Ceza, said there are allegations that water infrastructure was being deliberately damaged and vandalised to force municipalities to hire water tankers.

The government was working on a long-term solution to supply water to a number of communities.

“It is estimated that the water and sanitation sector requires R90 billion per year for the next 10 years in order to achieve 100% reliable water and sanitation service provision in South Africa.

“Water tankering is meant to be a temporary measure utilised by municipalities to ensure that communities are provided with water where there are water supply interruptions resulting from disasters such as floods or droughts or other temporary challenges,” he said at the time.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL News   

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