Barry Streek
Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry Ronnie Kasrils has bluntly admitted that the government’s strategy of providing all South Africans with clean water has not been as successful as originally planned.
He says the water programme has served more than 5,6-million people with water – 2,6-million to Reconstruction and Development Programme standards – at a total expenditure of R3,6-billion.
Despite this, “we have to face the fact that there are still probably over eight million people in our rural areas who do not have access to clean water. People, mainly women, have to trek every day in search of a few buckets of water and carry it home on their heads.
“In the absence of formal supply systems, opportunists take advantage of people’s desperation and sell water at 20 times the price,” he said during the debate on his vote in the National Assembly.
“Over 20-million rural people have no acceptable sanitation. Although the government and NGOs have established some useful pilot projects, we must acknowledge minimal headway since 1994.”
Replying to a question in the National Assembly he said 3,2-million households had flush toilets, while 338E265 households used bucket toilets and 2,4- million used pit latrines.
Kasrils also admitted it appeared that “the original date projected for the fulfilment of our water service target – the year 2007 – may be unrealistic. Indeed, I am concerned that, if we continue at the present rate, it may take us 20 rather than seven years to reach our goals.”
He said he had taken this “alarming prognosis” to the Cabinet, which had asked him to meet the ministers of finance, housing, and provincial and local government to investigate how the delivery of water could be speeded up and how the sanitation backlog could be tackled.
A four-pronged strategy is being considered, and includes the issues of pricing and cross-subsidisation, the promotion of sustainability by capacity- building at local government level, the promotion and regulation of partnerships, and the need to explore inexpensive and easy ways to maintain projects in the remoter areas.