Cape Town | Thursday
SOUTH Africa’s highly successful community water supply and sanitation programme has scooped first prize at the prestigious Water Globe Award in Linz, Austria.
The prize a trophy and Euro 10 000 (about R100 000) in cash, was received by the department of water affairs and forestry on Wednesday evening at an award ceremony.
In a statement on Thursday, Water Affairs Minister Ronnie Kasrils said he was delighted by his department’s success.
”It is fitting that South Africa is the recipient of an award recognising achievements in sustainable development in the year that the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) is hosted in Johannesburg.
”The South African government’s position on the WSSD is that it is first about development, and indeed this is the priority of the community water supply and sanitation programme.”
The award conferred international recognition on the remarkable achievements of the department’s programme.
Safe drinking water had been delivered to seven million people in South Africa over the past seven years, at a cost of R4,5-billion.
”In doing so, South Africa has met the millennium water supply target set by the United Nations in 2000, when President Thabo Mbeki and 100 other heads of state committed to halving the number of people lacking safe water by 2015.”
Competition for the Water Globe Award is tough in 2002 more than 1300 submissions were received from 98 countries. Two other finalists for the top award were a sea-water desalination project in Oman, and a solar-powered water pumping programme in India.
According to its organisers, the award is an international forum for projects ”covering a wide range of initiatives on how to supply and use drinking water in an efficient way”.
It is open to companies, private and public institutions and individuals.
”I must heartily congratulate all members of my department,” Kasrils said. – Sapa