Actionsa leader expounds on plan to solve SA’S water crisis

ADDRESSING the looming national water crisis requires a co-ordinated approach to municipal water infrastructure, says Actionsa Gauteng premier candidate Funzi Ngobeni.

Ngobeni said the country’s water network would not be able to withstand increasingly serious droughts and dry weather patterns as long as municipalities were losing 45% to 55% of their water to an increasing number of leaks in an ageing pipe network.

“Actionsa in government following these elections will address the capacity crisis within the Department of Water and Sanitation by filling critical vacancies of engineers and project managers to oversee, repair and expand water infrastructure.

“Actionsa will improve water-related service delivery by effectively managing South Africa’s water infrastructure. We will collect data on the state of South Africa’s water infrastructure and implement a national strategic maintenance plan to address any risks to South Africa’s water supply,” he added.

He said that as an Actionsa government they would launch a nationwide leak identification programme requiring all municipalities and bulk water suppliers to conduct projects aimed at identifying water leaks.

“We will consequently allocate sufficient financial and technical resources to rapidly address water leakages in bulk infrastructure. South

Africa’s water supply must keep up with an increasing population and shifting migration trends.

He further said that an Actionsa government would identify suitable sites that would be used as an investment in the construction of bulk water supply storage such as dams or reservoirs.

“This is precisely why I stand before the South African people today and say that our despair is not without hope. In 41 days from now, every South African will have the greatest opportunity in the last 30 years to remove a government that has produced a water crisis that is on our doorstep,” Ngobeni added.

He said the failure to expand the capacity of the main arterial pipe reticulation had resulted in the increasing demands being met only through increasing the water pressure.

This stopgap measure, he said, served only to decrease the longevity of the macro water pipe network and increase the number of bursts and leaks that need to be responded to.

“For those who have not yet been affected, consider having to buy water to stay hydrated. Imagine not being able to flush toilets or clean your homes and businesses.

“Think about the health of loved ones who fall ill because of compromised hygiene. See the costs of everything go up as agricultural output declines and costs rise.

“This is the reality of living in the water crisis that faces our country if we do not act now.”