Mashatile addresses SA’s water crisis

DEPUTY President Paul Mashatile has blamed the ongoing failure of municipalities across the country to supply water to communities on poor governance and infrastructure, corruption and criminal activity linked to water-tanker operations Mashatile made the remarks on Tuesday while responding to oral questions in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) in Cape Town.

- SIMON MAJADIBODU

He was answering a question from NCOP ANC chief whip Kenneth Mosimanegape Mmoiemang about expanding public-private partnership investment.

Mashatile acknowledged that communities in numerous municipalities are experiencing an ongoing water-supply crisis.

He attributed the continued challenges, which have persisted for several years, to poor governance and inadequate infrastructure.

“Indeed, many of our municipalities are grappling with challenges related to the provision of water and sanitation due to a combination of factors, including poor governance, lack of technical and administrative capacity, inadequate infrastructure investments, poor maintenance and financial mismanagement,” he said.

According to Mashatile, the Department of Water and Sanitation has reported a severe decline in the ability of many municipalities to deliver water to residents.

“This has resulted in a decline in the national average for reliability to 68%, and deteriorating water quality in about 60% of water-supply systems,” he said.