Today we debate water but the pressing question this department needs to ask, is which water? Again, like we said so many times municipalities are the biggest perpetrators for our residents experiencing water shortages. We hear the appeals towards resident to use water sparingly, but residents are not the main culprits, Minister. Minister, you admitted in your budget speech that municipalities fail to deliver water to the people. You stated that they do not have the infrastructure to deal with the multiplicity of what is required of them. High levels of debt that municipalities have, impacts on, I quote, "the value chain and on the overall financial sustainability of the sector" whatever that means.
No Chairperson, municipal debt is infringing our rights to services and water let call it what it is. Scapegoating the previous regime's spatial planning and service policies forever will not work anymore, minister. The nine Water Boards, which were created under this ANC government, as well as the department combined are currently owed R14 billion mostly by ANC's municipalities for raw water and other water services It remains ironic that this side of ANC government
own this side of ANC government money. Indeed we need to recover this.
Afrikaans:
Die VF Plus moes in April vanjaar 'n strafregtelike klag teen die munisipale bestuurder van die Mafube Plaaslike Munisipaliteit en die res van sy munisipale bestuurspan indien oor die storting van rouriool in die Wilgerivier by Frankfort.
Die munisipaliteit, wat Frankfort, Villiers, Cornelia en Tweeling bedien, se rioolwerke is buite werking weens grond en klippe in die riooldam en wanneer die aanleg wel funksioneer, is dit net vir 'n kort rukkie. Riool loop ook op verskeie ander plekke in die Wilgerivier.
English:
To my Gauteng delegates I would like to say sewerage is running into the Wigelriver which running into the Vaal River which run into your dams. And then there is the Mangaung Municipality where residents have been plagued by water restrictions owing to non-payment by the municipality. The result: pipes bursts again and water interruptions occur again Last year, poor maintenance by the ANC in Mangaung
resulted in the Metro wasting more than 13 billion litres of water due to leakages that were not repaired.
This was according to your predecessor, hon Minister. Now, if we convert it, that Metro wasted more than 36 million litres of water per day. Based on the Metro's own tariffs, the value of the water that has gone to waste amounts to more than R233 million. That is in one metro.
Afrikaans:
Maar die prentjie lyk nie veel beter vir die res van die land nie. R3 miljard se water is in die 2016-17 boekjaar deur munisipaliteite in Gauteng vermors.
In Noordwes word water in Matlosana by Klerksdorp uit die Vaalrivier gepomp, maar die suiweringsaanleg funksioneer nie en amper die helfde van die water word weer net so in die rivier teruggepomp.
English:
Last year the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation reprimanded the Department of Water and Sanitation for and I quote, "laxity" in releasing Green and Blue Drop reports since 2014. The committee said it was unacceptable that the 2016 reports were still
in draft stage in 2018 and we are still waiting for that report if I'm not mistaken. The committee itself said that it was of the view that, listen to this, the department officials are getting paid for doing nothing. In a report last year by the department of water and sanitation, the following challenges were identified by this department: Aging infrastructure including vandalism and lack of operations and maintenance; lack of implementation of risk management plans of water safety and limited technical expertise available within the department.
Minister you have little time today to speak about really pressing issue but you also have little time to fix our water problems as well. Stop blaming and start taking responsibility for your ANC failures. I thank you.