New Water and Sanitation ministry faces multiple water crises

The magnitude of the country’s water-related problems requires someone who is up to speed with the issues in the sector rather than someone who has no relevant background and will depend
on advisors and their director general for information. The appointment of a women to head the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is a positive move from the perspective of women empowerment and hopeful recognition that water scarcity and all other water-related problems affect mostly women.

The new minister of water and sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, has strong political credentials borne in the African National Congress (ANC) but has no background in water and sanitation nor public management. Her deputy, David Mahlobo is also from the ANC and was once minister of energy, remembered for some questionable decisions on nuclear power. He has a background in chemistry. The second deputy minister, Isaac Sello Seitlholo, from the Democratic Alliance (DA), has a background in public management.

This might appear to be a good combination but the government of departmental unity will be tested in taking control of the department to meet the urgency of problems in the sector. With the two political heads belonging to the ruling party, the token second deputy from the previous opposition, now GNU’d to government, the forecast is for more politicking and less delivery of their mandated role. Having said that, let’s look at water-related challenges in different parts of the country.

In Limpopo

In Vhembe district, people have no access to clean water despite the construction of the Nandoni dam. Promises were made and more tenders procured to provide water to the community. The previous minister visited both Mopani and Vhembe to witness the experiences of the communities there and promised that water will reach the Botlokwa community but nothing is happening. According to Innocent and Mashile Phalane, a water justice activist from the area, “If there is
anything Vhembe District Municipality [VDM] is doing to address water challenges in its jurisdiction, it cannot be quantified.” A dysfunctional well-water supply system has left two villages without water for years, though repairs to the system have been ‘95% complete’ since the municipality’s integrated development plan of 2021. The well has been dry since 2017 and when the community visited VDM offices in 2019, the municipality said they were not aware that it is dysfunctional.

Municipal taps in some villages in Vhembe District have never produced a drop of water since being erected more than 30 years ago. Photo by Ndivhuwo Mukwevho

There is also another water project to get water from Albasini Dam to Louis Trichardt . The project began in 2007 and to date has not supplied the town with water. ‘Water mafias’ have grown in the absence of infrastructure, tapping into the main pipeline to sell the water on to the villages. Vans and trucks run daily to and from the source. If you have your own vehicle to collect, you can go there and pay R20 to fill a bucket. The rate for a 210l drum is R70/210. What is not understood is why VDM is not intervening against this large-scale theft, nor who the main culprit behind this scheme is.

Gauteng

More than 90% of the rivers in Gauteng are polluted and most of them are carrying acid mine drainage from multiple sources. The Gauteng Protected Area Extension Strategy warns that given the rates of habitat loss, it is likely that no natural habitat will remain within Gauteng by 2050. Mining in the province will lead to over-extraction, pollution and sinkholes, which will destroy aquifers, affecting the drainage systems and associated wetlands that traverse the province. The DWS has not yet produced a detailed report of all aquifers in Gauteng. Most of the wastewater treatment works are dysfunctional while the department has spent more than R5-billion over the past 10 years on the rehabilitation of the Vaal River, yielding minimal results.

According to Mdu Shabalala of Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA), many municipalities in Gauteng have been experiencing water cuts. Restrictions on supply from the Lesotho Highlands Project has increased reliance on the Vaal Dam, while the Hartebeespoort Dam is in ecological distress, leaving many residents without water for months. The ‘renewed’ ministry is staring down the spectre of water scarcity in South Africa but appears unwilling to review the intensive water consumption of industry.

Western Cape

In Goedverwacht, the land is owned by the Moravian Church, which charges the residents for water that is supplied by the municipality – except that the water supply only reaches the church leadership. Here people have to pay even to bury their loved ones as the church demands money for a grave site. The councillor of the area says he had made several efforts to obtain a clean water supply for the community but it has been through the intervention of the Western Cape Water Caucus that the attention of the DWS was drawn to the injustice and a truck currently delivers water to Goedverwacht. The water delivered by the truck, however, is reportedly not available for free.

The church leaders are not willing to meet the people, offering no explanation for the lack of water while people are paying for it. The church as landowners must approach the municipality to supply the community with water but is reluctant to do so as it owes hundreds of thousands on its water bill.

Water in Goedverwacht gets delivered by trucks as they do not have access to clean water from the taps. Photo by Mzi Velapi

Eastern Cape

In Makhanda Municipality, the aging infrastructure and dysfunctional municipality led to a water crisis in the town. The community through its civic movement brought the municipality to court which found that the municipality was not fulfilling its mandate and needed to be brought under administration. R400-million was invested to upgrade the infrastructure but the project is still behind schedule and without any improvement in services. The deadline for completion of work by the contractor has been missed for the second time and a blame game has erupted between the municipality and the DWS .

Part of the James Kleynhans water treatment works in Makhanda, which has been undergoing an upgrade since 2015. This photograph was taken on 5 July. Photo: Loyiso Dyongman

In Amathole District Municipality, residents are sharing water with animals, risking their health, as they don’t have access to clean drinking water and have to travel long distances to access potable water. Most affected are women and girls who are customarily expected to bear the responsibility of collecting water. The residents have resorted to the courts, with the assistance of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), where they are trying to compel the municipality to supply water to the 1,200 residents living in the area.

What needs to be done

Given the magnitude, urgency and seriousness of these challenges, the new minister must hit the ground running. The fact that in this portfolio there are two deputy ministers could reflect an understanding from the president of how huge the task is. Or, it’s at the dry taps of water service delivery that the semblance of governmental unity is most strategic. Civil society will have to be up to speed and voice its concerns, from the small corners in municipalities to big numbers in national actions, so that talk of addressing water issues is not just an electioneering ploy.

Mpumelelo Mhlalisi is a member of the co-ordinating committee for the South African Water Caucus (SAWC)