Water Resources Not In Government Spotlight

Posted by Farrel Tue, 28 Aug 2007 21:57:00 GMT

Thanks to certain government departments being asleep at the wheel the electricity supply in South Africa is on some rather shaky ground till 2011 at the least. Now it seems government may be doing the same again with an even more important resource – water.

The primary policy guiding South Africa’s economic development, Asgisa [the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa], makes no mention of this key restraint to growth, or the need to carefully manage our rainfall catchments and improve the water-use efficiency of industry and agriculture

South Africa is a water scarce country with a long and regular history of drought occurrence (we’re going through one right now), let’s not wake up in 2025, the projected year that demand will outstrip supply with another minister making excuses that they never saw this coming.

SA Water Situation Could Get Worse 1

Posted by Farrel Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:12:00 GMT

Thanks to some shoddy planning SA is facing an electricity crunch for the next few years. Let’s not have the same thing happen with our water supply. According to that article around one third of our 1000 treatment plants are in need of urgent repair and maintenance to avoid an all out crisis.

Director-General of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Jabu Sindane found these statistics “disturbing”.

Now I’m not sure what exactly is required to make sure that a country can function properly, but I’m pretty sure “A reliable source of water” is in the top five. I don’t think there’s a segment of SA that doesn’t rely on it somehow. So to have the man who is in charge of the running of the department that oversees our water say he only finds it disturbing now when two thirds of treatment plants require maintenance and half of them are understaffed is a bit… disturbing.