Chairperson, hon Minister, members of the Fifth Parliament, fellow South Africans, shortly after her appointment, Minister Nomvula Mokonyane said that her tenure will be characterised by ensuring that rural communities have access to water, upgrading water infrastructure and working with residents to conserve this precious resource.
This is a very laudable goal, Minister, and I know you will manage to achieve it. However, to date it has not materialised for most of our people. According to a report by the SA Human Rights Commission, we have a very serious problem on our hands. This report found that the areas that lack water and sanitation mirror apartheid spatial geography.
National averages seem to indicate progress but when statistics are disaggregated, in historically poor areas, they reflect limited access to these services. Lack of water and sanitation has a disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups, including women, children and people with disabilities.
Systemic failures in governance and budgeting, particularly in the implementation of and spending on projects, are very clear. These failures, hon Minister, point to the need for government to evaluate the current models of governance and funding. Water is life. Where there is no water, there is no life.
It is of crucial importance that South Africans have set themselves a target of 100% access to water. It puzzles one's mind to notice how the lack of water conservation has been left unaddressed. There do not seem to be plans to curb this wastage. Most of the local municipalities have not addressed this issue.
Hon Minister, I am sure you will agree with me that when taps are left running, wasting water throughout the night, it is a big problem, yet no one is willing to take responsibility for that. We cannot afford to lose even a single drop of water.
It is appreciated that the Minister has announced the new catchment agencies. We will watch this space, Minister.
Hon Minister, to have the Umzimvubu and other rivers used as catchment areas could be a good story to tell. But why has there been such a long wait? Where is the plan?
It has taken the people of the Eastern Cape and other provinces more than 20 years to have dams built for them. Good plans have always been there but action on the part of national government has been lacking. I hope you will crack the whip, Minister.
Plants and animals cannot survive when there is a lack of water. The whole country watched with sadness and dismay at the manner in which the poor animals on the farm of the hon Chairperson of the NCOP, Ms Thandi Modise, died. Is that a good story to tell? Definitely not!
Dit is skandelik. [That is disgraceful.]
The nation watched and wondered what was happening. As far as we are concerned, the review of the Millennium Development Goals indicators is very important. So far, the review shows that out of the seven MDG targets of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water by 2014, South Africa has achieved only one. The data shows that the target is likely to be met by 2015.
However, the backlog is attributed to an inability to project-manage the dedicated sanitation programmes and the lack of administrative data systems that can be used for monitoring and evaluation purposes. We know how difficult it is, particularly in the settlement areas. So, even though the target is likely to be met, the inherent risks, as outlined, have the potential to derail the meeting of this target.
According to the National Development Plan, the Department of Water and Sanitation should ensure that the implementation of national strategies for water conservation and demand management are properly resourced and enjoy appropriate policy prioritisation across the economy. It is again the stepped tariffs that are important to promote the conservation of water and electricity.
Hon Minister, in the DA-run Western Cape, the value of the DA difference is clear for all to see. In the Western Cape, 99,1% of households have access to piped water and 90,5% have access to flush toilets. As of now, this is the highest percentage in the whole country.
According to the 2012 Sanitation Report, as published by the Department of Water Affairs, the Western Cape and Gauteng are the provinces with the highest percentage of communities with adequate sanitation services. [Interjections.]