Chairperson, I must say that I am encouraged by the level of commitment to a very important commodity in this country - water - and the level of activism. I only hope that it will not end in this House, but will be extended to our constituencies, in all respects. This was one of the best debates I have listened to, and, really, the passion is coming through from all the members. I want to thank you all for enriching us with your comments and inputs. [Applause.]
Of course, politics in water have been there since time immemorial. Part of what we are doing is redressing the imbalances of the past we inherited from the apartheid regime. Even water was an exclusive commodity of the few. That is a fact.
I was listening to a lot of members here talking about pollution. This is very important, but I want to encourage them to read the White Paper on Water, which contains the policy for water in this country. It suggests a number of water uses; water for energy generation, industrial activities, domestic use, agriculture, hospitals, economic activities, nature, conservation, forestry and so on.
These highlight the competing interests for water, which is a scarce commodity in the country. I am worried about the myopia of members confining themselves to one sector that seems to be the only one that is polluting water, and yet there are others. I am worried because we may be allowing other users to get away with murder. In the context of water conservation, demand management. In the context of your own oversight, let us have oversight over everybody and all industries. That is the first thing I want to say on this matter.
Secondly, I am sure you must have seen me shaking my head, Ms Lovemore, when you spoke about the mining forum. It is exactly that reason I am raising here. Why do you only focus on mining when other people are there? If we are creating a forum, it should be a broad one, so that you bring all the culprits on board and engage all of them. For me, an integrated approach would be the best if we want to deal with the issue of pollution, much as I appreciate your point about pollution by the mines. We have already indicated that the "polluter pays" principle will apply. But it must apply to everybody. I think that is the kind of justice, fairness and balance that we need to bring into this debate.
A very important issue is that of the catchment management agencies. Bodies that are important for water resource management are also important for the democratisation of the water sector, especially when is comes to bringing transparency to this. We have had a problem of resources, financial and human resources, in establishing these very important entities. There is a report dealing with this, and I would urge the committee to prioritise the tabling of this report, because it is ready. It will give an opportunity to all members to get a sense of the challenges related to the establishment of the catchment management agencies.
When it comes to the filling of vacancies, indeed we are not ...
Asohlukanga kwamanye amacandelo. [We are not different from other sectors.]
It is not a matter confined to the Department of Water Affairs only. It is a matter that affects the country as a whole and all the sectors. We have a problem with critical skills. But, with water, we are lucky to have the SA Institution of Civil Engineering, which is an organisation for civil engineers, and the Water Institute of Southern Africa, an association for water specialists. We started engaging with these bodies some time ago. Out of that engagement came a project of deploying expertise. We requested them to help us deploy expertise where it was needed. That programme started with the deployment of 21 engineers, if I remember correctly. It is still there, and now it has been extended to include the participation of the Development Bank of Southern Africa.
That programme is called Siyenza Manje. We identify a municipality that has resources, but does not have the technical capacity to deal with those challenges. It will never be adequate, but there are measures and mechanisms that we are embarking on to deal with that problem.
Schools and clinics have been given special attention for sanitation and water. I am told that the clinics have already reached universal access as far as both issues are concerned, but we are still busy with the schools. You will also appreciate that you cannot give some schools water, because they are still mud schools. The very structures still need to be built with bricks and mortar. It may well be that some of the schools that are still outstanding are those that still need to be built in a formal way. But I take your point. The programme is there and we are proceeding with that.
On the issues that were raised about the metros, again, there is a study that has been conducted. There is a lot to say. You can see that this is all I can share with you in 13 minutes. I want to encourage members to begin writing questions, so that we are able to provide the necessary details, because some of these issues are really detailed and you need technical responses for them. I would really encourage you to ask questions, because it would empower all of us.
I have already alluded to the issue of infrastructure. It is a challenge and there are programmes dealing with that. But I think we must not lose sight of the fact that the design capacity of this infrastructure, which was meant to serve a few, is now exhausted. We have expanded the services to our people, and they can no longer hold. Hence the department, in its wisdom, decided to allocate an amount of R787 billion towards refurbishment, maintenance and development of infrastructure, to deal particularly with this problem.
It is a problem, it is there, and it is coupled with the absence of technical capacity in the municipalities that are mandated constitutionally to deal with infrastructure.
That technical capacity does not end with engineering capacity. Even financial management in some municipalities is an issue. As a result, the municipal infrastructure grant is not expanded, as it should have been, because of the lack of that financial management capacity. All of these things are things that we are working on, and they are work in progress.
The advisory council used to be there. We will revitalise it. But we are also taking advice from the Water Research Commission and other such bodies.
Dam safety rehabilitation is a programme; it has a budget. We are dealing with the issue of the dams. But, really, we cannot bring contradictions into this debate. In one breath, we are saying that South Africa is a water- scarce country. In the next breath, we are saying let's destroy the dams. We can't decommission dams. What is important, and what we need to apply our minds to, I agree, is rehabilitation. If we don't deal with rehabilitation, then it will affect the quality of the water. Hartebeespoort Dam is a case in point.
There is a budget of R1,25 billion for the purpose of rehabilitating 162 of the 287 dams of the department. That programme will run until the 2012-13 financial year. It includes addressing all of the issues that you have raised. Surely, I have to leave out some issues, because there are so many.
There was an issue raised about the rural areas. I quite agree with that in the context of ensuring justice. Also, water is a human rights issue. We have to prioritise our rural communities, some of which have been excluded from getting this service. Some people have not had this service from the day they were born, and some of them are 90 years old.
I went to Tarkastad to deliver sanitation services. There was an 84-year- old woman. When she took the key, she cried, because she said, "For the first time I will now have a waterborne sanitation system." So, I am saying the rural areas should be our priority in terms of water. [Applause.] Of course, we cannot have the Jozini Dam being a white elephant. We have to make sure that the Jozini Dam delivers to the people of the area.