HEALTH AND SANITATION
35
Is there some light in the
tunnel for our rivers?
Just after the elections I rashly suggested that Lindiwe Sisulu, the
new Minister of Human Settlements, Water & Sanitation might be
good for plumbers – and for the water sector in general. But then
I am often accused of being over-optimistic and it appears that
this may once again have been the case.
By Mike Muller
The argument was simple. The Minister responsible for
housing needs to be sure that the fixtures and fittings
used in her new houses should work until after the
next elections. Similarly, as Minister for Human Settle-
ments, she will know that water supply and sanitation
work better if municipal infrastructure is correctly
planned in the first place. Finally, if the local municipal-
ity doesn’t do its operating job properly, she risks being
(unfairly) blamed when household services fail.
Those are all good reasons for dealing with the problems of
our water services. Unfortunately, initial evidence has not been
encouraging. There was a predictable rush to paper over long
standing problems – like getting water into Grahamstown
for the Arts festival. But bitter experience teaches us that
emergency quick fixes don’t last unless there is a change in
the management and oversight at municipal level – and that
seems no closer.
Similarly, Minister Sisulu inherited the troops from the Defence
Force’s Engineering Corps, who have reportedly made a good
start on fixing Emfuleni’s sewage works. But as she has been
told, you don’t stop pollution by fixing the treatment works if
the pipes leading to the treatment work are broken and the
sewage is spilling into the river.
Lindiwe Sisulu, the new Minister of Human
Settlements, Water & Sanitation.
September 2019 Volume 25 I Number 7
Nor will her bankrupt department be fixed by grabbing
money from municipalities, as was proposed in her budget
speech. It was after all, her officials who spent (wasted?)
R2-billion more than they had in their bank account. Do we
really want to give them the chance to do it again?
Meanwhile, the Human Settlements part of her department is
not helping. The drafters of the new 15 plus volume revision
of the Red Book, The Neighbourhood Planning and Design
Guide seem to think that they live in Europe. The revised
document ‘provides guidance on appropriate practices
and technologies and it does not replace the need for
professional experience and judgement’.
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.
That’s not a helpful start – most municipalities just don’t
have such professionals. And, since ‘the guidelines are also
not legally enforceable’, they will look pretty on the shelf, but
won’t help to stop crooked contractors providing – and over-
charging for – rubbish fittings in new reticulation systems.
There is, however, one chink of light in the tunnel. The
minister is also responsible for managing the country’s
water resources, the water that flows in our rivers and
underground is stored in dams and transported to where it is
needed. The experience of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela
Bay show what happens when those issues are not properly
addressed. Here she has a rare asset – her Deputy, David
Mahlobo, is a qualified water professional who used to work
in the Department. He not only understands the difference
between a river and a pipe, but also knows what needs to be
done to monitor and enforce the rules and regulations. So,
if she takes his advice, she ends up doing the right things in
that corner of the building.
As for the rest, she sorely needs support to fix broken
municipalities as well as the collapsed parts of her own
department. Hopes of help from the National Planning
Commission have been dashed – after three years of study,
they concluded that the solution to our water crises is to
write new policies! If this is the best that we can do, we are
in serious trouble. The only good news for plumbers is that
business is likely to surge as householders turn once again
to rainwater tanks and boreholes in the garden to provide
some supply security. PA
www.plumbingafrica.co.za