Minister David Mahlobo: Water and Sanitation Dept Budget Vote 2022/23

• Published date: 13 May 2022
• Publication title: South African Official News

Honourable Speaker, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula

HE Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa

HE DD Mabuza, Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa

Hon. SE Mchunu, Minister of Water and Sanitation and other Hon Ministers

Hon. Dikeledi Magadzi, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation and other Deputy Ministers

Hon. P Majodina and D Dlakude- Chief Whip and Deputy Chief Whip

Hon R Mashego, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation and other Members

Honourable Members of Parliament

The Director-General, Dr. S Phillips and other senior managers of DWS

Leadership of our Entities- Chairpersons, Members of the Boards, CEOs and Senior Executives

Leadership of various stakeholders in our sector and civil society Esteemed Guests

Fellow South Africans

Introduction

Your Excellencies comrades and friends, many citizens across the globe continue to perish, economies have stagnated whilst exposing inequalities existing amongst the nations due to the continued devastating impact of COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine Conflict, as well as global security, and geo- political tensions. In our country we experienced COVID-19, July 2021 violent unrests affecting KZN and GP and recently the untold suffering caused by floods in KZN, some parts of EC, NW and fires that ravaged more than 300 shacks in the WC.

Let me join others in paying our last respects to all those who lost their lives due to the matters I have raised above. Their memories will live on because they remain embedded in our minds and hearts. There are those heroes and heroines who succumbed whilst in the cause of saving humanity, including the rescue worker who perished in KZN. This COVID-19 virus continues to mutate, and new strains are emerging. The only way to stop the spread is through our behavior as individuals and collectively. Let's continue to support the roll-out of the vaccination programme and frown upon those who continue to spread false narratives about vaccines. Civic education, mobilization and solidarity during this period will go a long way in our collective effort to turn the tide and save humanity.

Water security

Water is an integral part of the ecosystem, a natural resource and a social and economic good, whose quantity and quality determine the nature of its utilisation. Water is a limiting resource for development in Southern Africa and a change in water supply could have major implications in most sectors of the economy. Factors that contribute to vulnerability of water systems in Southern Africa include seasonal and inter-annual variations in rainfall, which are amplified by high run-off production and evaporation rates -these being climate change impacts.

South Africa does not have a national water crisis at present. Regardless of effective water management and service provision, however, a number of serious problems we experience currently could prove to be the seeds of future crises. In such situations, water-related problems could have a seriously negative impact, causing the country's socio-economic imperatives to take a turn for the worse.

Climate change has significant impact causing flooding though limited to some localities, while drought and drought-related disasters regularly affect communities as well as the national economy. Many opportunities offered by the water sector for development and social transformation are not being exploited effectively

We are on course to create a conducive environment for water security through the harnessing of the social and productive potential of water to the benefit of all, ensuring its destructive potential is sufficiently contained, but equally we are the first to admit that South Africa cannot yet be considered fully 'water secure'.

International experts have indicated that lack of water security is not primarily the result of not having enough water. Internationally, it is recognised that water scarcity does not, in itself, determine the success or failure of a country's economic and social development. It is more important - and this has been demonstrated at a global level - that...