50
FEATURE
50
FEATURE
SA’s water woes:
still time to address
infra problems
By Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (SAPPMA)
South Africa’s worsening water crisis is firmly in
the focus of President Cyril Ramaphosa and his
government. In an open letter published in the media,
the President painted a grim picture of the country’s
threatening water woes.
“Our existing water systems are already
over-exploited as usage increases rapidly
due to population growth and as more
homes get connected to water. Combine
this with the worsening effects of climate
change and we are clearly facing a
dire situation. Unless we take drastic
measures to conserve water sources and
promote efficient use, water insecurity
will become the biggest developmental
and economic challenge facing this
country. Our current energy challenges
will seem small by comparison. Unless
we act now, we may not have water
anywhere,” the President warned.
The Minister of Human Settlements, Water and
Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu announced a few
days later that South Africa intends spending
R900-billion over the next decade to improve
its water-supply and storage infrastructure and
tackle a growing shortage of the resource. She
also announced that a separate unit will be
established to finance, manage and operate the
national water infrastructure, while projects that
are currently in the works will be expedited.
Commenting on these latest developments, the
Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers
Association (SAPPMA) said they are relieved
that the government is finally recognising the
seriousness of the problem and are making the
necessary resources available to upgrade the
country’s resources, but added that they were
frustrated that we have reached this point of
desperation.
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“There is no doubt that the impact of this
current crisis could have been reduced – if
not completely avoided,” SAPPMA CEO Jan
Venter says. He conceded that whilst drought
and climate change might have aggravated
the problem, a major cause is the country’s
failure to upgrade and maintain its water
pipes and infrastructure over the last decade.
Moreover, he expressed concerns following an
admission made by Deputy Minister of Water
and Sanitation, David Mahlobo, that the Master
Plan announced by Minister Sisulu, is as yet
unfunded and that there is no budget for the
implementation of this plan.
“The Water Research Council recently
confirmed that the country’s water resources
in 2019 are not too much different from what
it has been for the last 10 000 or so years.
We started issuing warnings in 2009 already
about a threatening water disaster unless
urgent and corrective actions were taken.
Unfortunately, our calls for action fell on deaf
ears,” says Venter.
SAPPMA is a non-profit industry body that
represents close to 80% of the plastic pipe
manufacturers in South Africa. As a self-
regulating standards body, SAPPMA focuses
on ensuring that the pipes produced and
installed by its members have been tested and
certified to meet international health and safety
standards. Only pipes bearing the SAPPMA
mark have been independently tested and
audited to confirm that they comply with
SANS / ISO standards.
Old infrastructure
“Much of the country’s water infrastructure
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February 2020 Volume 25 I Number 12