Water, Sewage & Effluent January February 2019 | Page 19

References
• Department of Water and Sanitation (2017)
National Water Infrastructure Framework
(NWIF) Executive Summary
• Efrat, S (2011) Pipe Replacement in South
Africa, No Dig Conference Paper 8.2
• https://www.thesouthafrican.com/south-
africa-gdp-economy-first-quarter-2018/
• https://tradingeconomics.com/south-
africa/unemployment-rate
• https://tradingeconomics.com/south-
africa/business-confidence
• Lekula, N (2018) Construction Industry a
Good Growth Barometer, SA construction
3rd Edition Business Report
• Municipal IQ (2018) Municipal Hotspots
Monitor
• Rosenberg, N (2004) Innovation and
Economic Growth, Stanford University
• Statistics South Africa (2016) The state of
basic service delivery in South Africa: In-
depth analysis of the Community Survey
2016 data, Report No. 03-01-22 2016
• Van Zyl. G (2018) SA’s inequality problem:
Can you be pro-business, pro-poor at the
same time? www.biznews.com
• A C Oosthuizen; J L van Rooy 
innovations
The first steps in unlocking this economic
potential requires the government to
implement supporting policies and
decision-making at all levels, as detailed
in Table 9.
Once actioned, it would be easy to
monitor the progress and resultant
economic
activities
from
these
interventions.
Trenchless technology will enable
South Africa to become the powerhouse
of infrastructure innovation in Africa.
As more infrastructure is replaced,
service delivery will be enhanced.
Additionally, water loss through these
pipeline networks will be reduced and the
exfiltration of sewage during peak flows,
along with the corresponding overloading
of the wastewater treatment works due
to the infiltration of groundwater into the
wastewater disposal systems, will be
eliminated. The use of this technology
is imperative for economic growth as
it allows for high output volumes whilst
reducing the environmental, social and
economic impact of construction.
R Buckminster Fuller put it aptly: “You
never change things by fighting the
existing reality. To change something,
build a new model that makes the existing
model obsolete.”
professional
organisations
such as IMIESA and is
currently making approaches
to the Construction Industry
Development Board (CIDB) to
encourage them to introduce trenchless
technology as one of the designated
categories of specialist work to raise the
professionalism of contractors working in
the marketplace.
4.1. The way forward
About the SASTT
The South African Society for Trenchless
Technology (SASTT) is celebrating 21
years since its formation.
It has an active membership who has
a collective dedication to the promotion
of trenchless technology. The Society is
currently developing SASTT standard
specifications for trenchless technology.
It continues active dialogue with
than 160 000 direct sustainable employment
opportunities whilst replacing/installing
10 140km of water and sewer pipelines on
an annual basis. As the roll-out continues,
the cascading effect of this action
throughout the economic chain becomes
evident, resulting in a prosperity cycle
illustrated by Figure 4, as distinct from
the poverty cycle illustrated by Figure 1
(Ed.’s note: See Water, Sewage & Effluent
November/December 2018).
www.waterafrica.co.za
Water Sewage & Effluent January/February 2019
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