was refused, meaning its allocation in this financial year was R2-billion less.
At the time, Department of Water and Sanitation spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said the reduction in budget meant that the department would have to rethink its spending on infrastructure.
Democratic Alliance shadow deputy minister of water and sanitation Leon Basson expressed concerns that the underspending would halt sorely needed projects, such as the Nooitgedacht Water Scheme, which is supposed to supply water to the Nelson Mandela Bay metro. The project has been delayed repeatedly because of a lack of funding.
Meanwhile, apart from the backlog with water infrastructure works, water and sanitation minister Nomvula Mokonyane has also come under fire for not releasing the Blue Drop and Green Drop reports for 2014, which sheds light on the quality of drinking water and the state of affairs at the country’ s water-treatment plants. Last year, the Department of Water and Sanitation acknowledged that more than R800-billion would be needed over the next decade to upgrade dysfunctional water infrastructure across South Africa.
Questions regarding government’ s spending so far this year on water infrastructure went unanswered by the Department of Water and Sanitation, while Rand Water said it could not comment at this time, as its figures are yet to be audited. u
“ At a national level, adequate investment must be made to ensure a more sustainable means of managing the available water resources.” industry
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Water Sewage & Effluent November / December 2016