Collaborating to overcome water supply challenges for schools

AS A TOKEN of efforts to deliver necessary services to deserving and vulnerable communities, the Department of Water and Sanitation has signed a tripartite agreement with the Department of Basic Education and Rand Water.

The collaboration will see delivery of water tanks and tankers at schools as part of readiness for a back-to-school programme and to encourage the practice of regular handwashing.

This is a significant departmental intervention to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

The department, with the Department of Basic Education, has identified 3 475 schools across the country that will benefit from this flagship project.

The two departments have signed a memorandum of understanding that will see them working actively together to ensure that these services reach the intended recipients.

It has appointed Rand Water, a government entity; to lead the procurement of water tanks and tankers. Rand Water is mandated, among other things, to identify schools that have storage capacity, and provide them with water to get the schools ready to operate.

Through this partnership, 2 634 temporary stands and tanks will be constructed, and 351 water tankers have been allocated for water provision.

At the beginning of the outbreak of the pandemic, the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, pledged to prioritise congested communities such as informal settlements, rural areas, hostel dwellers and schools and to deliver water tanks.

The delivery of the water tanks and tankers in schools is in line with the National Water and Sanitation Master Plan which prioritises delivery programmes until 2030 and beyond. The programmes ensure water security and equitable access to water and sanitation services for all South Africans.

Despite a number of positives, there is no doubt that the department is still facing momentous challenges to accomplish its most important mandate.

The flagship project of delivering water storage facilities is a giant step towards achieving universal and equitable access to reliable water supply and sanitation services as enshrined in the country’s constitution, the National Water Act, Water Services Act and National Development Plan’s vision for 2030.