Chairperson and hon members, having now personally seen the site of the proposed Polihali Dam, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the DA to support the agreement on Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project between the government of the Kingdom of Lesotho and the government of the Republic of South Africa.
The previous agreement was signed in 1986 and led to the building of the Phase I infrastructure, including the awe-inspiring Katse and Mohale Dams. Phase I is delivering water to the thirsty province of Gauteng, but water planners are well aware that the Vaal system requires more water. It will in the next few years be in deficit. Phase II, which is before this House today, will include the construction of the Polihali Dam and a 38 km tunnel linking the Polihali Dam to the Katse Dam. The project is expected to further augment the water supplies to Gauteng by 2020.
As of December 2010, the project was expected to cost US$8 billion. This is an off-budget project, which means it will be funded by loan capital. Projects of this size require the strongest possible oversight. Phase I of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project was tainted with corruption, and several individuals involved have served or are currently serving jail sentences. The agreement for Phase II includes strong anticorruption clauses and is backed up by a policy as prescribed by the agreement. The whole project will also be scrutinised by foreign external auditors during the course of the life of the project.
The DA recognises the importance of the provision of water to sustain human health and support economic growth. South Africa is a water scarce country, yet too many South Africans take water for granted. Insufficient water can negatively affect irrigation, thus reducing food security, and it can negatively affect mining, thus reducing foreign exchange and job creation. South Africans so often fixate on the lack of a reliable supply of electricity as a barrier to economic growth. The same can be said for water though, and the consequences of a lack of water are far more devastating than a lack of power.
Phase II will offer increased water security, but let us be mindful that the water it will provide is not a licence for business, agriculture or municipal users to waste water. The obligation is on all water users to use water efficiently and to return water to the water courses in an acceptable state after it has been used. What we do not want to be doing in 2020 is chasing the good, clean water from the Polihali Dam after the discharged polluted water from Gauteng water users in order to dilute the latter. Thank you. [Applause.]