HEALTH AND SANITATION
27
Why didn’t you just call a plumber?
By Mike Muller
“So why didn’t you just call a plumber?” It’s not often that you
hear a Minister asked that question at a big public meeting.
And the big round of applause from the audience was even less
expected.
But that’s what happened at the end of last year
at a meeting called by Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of
water, sanitation and a whole lot of other things.
She had been joined by her colleague Patricia de
Lille who is now the Minister of Public Works and
Infrastructure to launch the much-talked-about
‘Master Plan’ for water and sanitation.
The Master Plan goes some way to answer that
question. It requires municipalities, and others, to set
caps on water use with reducing targets over time –
and in Gauteng, Rand Water has already warned the
municipalities that they will not be getting any extra
water if they try to exceed their present quotas. The
Plan also says that municipal managers and their
water directors must Include water use efficiency and
conservation targets in their key performance indicators.
And, by April 2020, Minister Sisulu promised that the ‘No
Drop’ programme will be restarted to monitor progress.
Sisulu thought that her sister Minister might help with
more money for the water sector. That’s unlikely to
happen, given the disastrous state of government’s
budget. So, if nothing else, Sisulu, hoped that de Lille
would be able to get someone to fix the tap in her
bathroom in her official house.
Mike Muller is a
professional civil engineer
and a visiting Professor
at the Wits School of
Governance. Now out of
government, he raises
issues that his former
colleagues can’t and tries
to help the politicians to
help the technicians to do
their jobs.
We now wait with bated breath to see whether the
right people do the right job. Water may be everybody’s
business but, when action is needed, let’s hope that they
remember to call a plumber. PA
It had been dripping for ages she complained – hence the
question from the audience.
The job of the Minister of Public Works has always been
a bit of a puzzle. The title could cover everything from
public toilets to airports. In reality, they are little more
than large scale landlords or, as at present, landladies.
Her Department’s website describes its role as the asset
manager for the State. So, she really can’t escape from her
responsibility for dripping taps in government buildings – at
least, not for those that are owned by national government
as opposed to the provinces and the municipalities.
But that question was important. Who is responsible for
looking after our water, and are they doing their jobs?
National government’s attempts to reduce municipal
water losses over the past five years have generally failed.
The War on Leaks programme leaked so much money
that the Department failed for months to pay its young
trainees. It did not help that municipalities were not given
any assistance to implement the work. Nor that the ‘No
Drop’ monitoring programme that was supposed to track
progress was cancelled due to lack of funds.
So, once more, we have to ask, who is going to do the job?
March 2020 Volume 26 I Number 01
Indeed, the Department’s website lists as its first task,
being ‘The Handy Man of the State’. So Sisulu’s request
was entirely appropriate although it was a little rash to
make it in front of 400 water people – obviously including
some plumbers.
Is there a plumber out there that wants to fix the minister's leaking faucet?
www.plumbingafrica.co.za