Nothing New in Ramaphosa’s Water Crisis Plan

Statement by Stephen Moore MP – DA Spokesperson on Water and Sanitation:

The plan released by President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday to address South Africa’s water supply crisis contains nothing new.

This is very alarming, and after six months of promises, South Africans desperate for water supply security should remain concerned. The DA has been fighting for an executable and realistic plan, because South Africans deserve water security, taps that flow, water that is clean and drinkable.

Instead of delivering a new comprehensive strategy to upgrade infrastructure, fix what’s broken, and secure supply, the president has recycled and compiled existing plans into a presentable document.

But the existing plans and programmes are not working, Mr President!

In February, Ramaphosa stood before parliament and promised an urgent new plan to end dry taps. We certainly do not have a “new plan.”

For example, the Water Services Amendment Bill was introduced last year and is already before the Portfolio Committee on Water & Sanitation. That is not new.

The National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency already exists and is currently being operationalised. That is not new.

Public-private partnerships are already possible under existing legislation. That is not new.

Numerous ANC-run municipalities have already been placed under Section 139 administration and remain broken. That is not new.

What is new is that the President’s new document now targets HIGHER water losses than government’s own previous benchmark of 25%. The new target is to waste 39% of clean drinking water. This is plainly unacceptable and shows the President giving up on fixing things.

The DA is proud that our largest local government, the DA-run City of Cape Town is already down to just 24% – below the national benchmark.

The President’s Plan admits that across South Africa 74% of municipal water service providers score “poor” or “critical” in drinking water and/or wastewater assessments.

Despite this, there is no new plan to get skilled technicians and engineers into these places to overcome skills shortages and vacancies. That would have been a new solution.

On what is included in the President’s new/old plan, the DA will hold him and those responsible to full account, especially around funding for water infrastructure.

The President has released this Water Crisis Plan without a budget. We must assume that the funding comes from already in place budgets.

The constitutional right to water will be protected and safeguarded by the DA.