Our immediate priority is to end cholera outbreak and ensure safe water for all.
Dear Fellow South African,
Recent outbreaks of cholera in Hammanskraal in
Gauteng and in the Free State have shown the vital importance of safe and
effective water and waste water management. The deaths
of 24 people in Gauteng and the Free State are deeply tragic. Our thoughts and
prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones. Hundreds more
people have been hospitalised following the outbreak.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organisation
and international relief organisations warned that after years of steady
decline, cholera has made ‘a devastating comeback’, putting over a billion
people in 43 countries at risk. According to the WHO, 24 countries have
had reported cases since the beginning of the year, including in parts of
Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Authorities are to be commended for
their efforts to speedily assist all those affected, including setting up a
field hospital in Kanana in Hammanskraal, providing additional water tanking
services to residents and going into communities to raise awareness about
proper hygiene. An
investigation is underway into the source of the outbreak. Technical teams from
the City of Tshwane, the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the provincial
and national departments of Health are carrying out water quality tests at
distribution points and at water treatment works in the area.
They are also tracking and tracing infections. To
date, the original source of the cholera infection has not been located.
However, this waterborne disease is highly transmissible in conditions where
there is inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities.
Unreliable and poor-quality drinking water has
been a problem in Hammanskraal for many years. The Rooiwal waste water
treatment works, which is upstream of Hammanskraal, has not been well-maintained
and has insufficient capacity to deal with the volume of waste water entering
the works. Over the years,
in its role as the regulator of the water sector, the Department of Water and
Sanitation has issued many directives to the City of Tshwane to address
pollution from the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment works. Regrettably, these
directives were not acted upon. Consequently, the Department initiated legal
action to force the City to use its grant from national government to refurbish
and upgrade the waste water treatment works.
While there must be full accountability for the
failings that have resulted in the outbreak in Hammanskraal, at this time we
must focus on the problem at hand. We must stop the spread of cholera and take
remedial measures to safeguard human health. Generally, water quality in South Africa is of a high
standard, which, according to our Water Research Commission, “compares well
with the best in the world”. It is important to note that the dual water
systems supplied by Magalies and Rand Water to the Tshwane area meet national
standards. After it was
abandoned nearly a decade ago, government reinstituted the Blue and Green Drop
programmes to help improve national water quality and to assist municipalities
with compliance. This formed part of Operation Vulindlela, a collaboration
between the Presidency, National Treasury and government departments to
fast-track economic reforms.
The most recent Green Drop Report shows there
has been a steady decline in the quality of water and sanitation services in
municipalities. Poor governance, ineffective management, increasing debt and
underspending on public infrastructure like wastewater treatment plans have all
contributed to poor water quality. Under these circumstances, the
fact that many councils underspend critical infrastructure grants is
unacceptable.
Across the country, the Department of Water and
Sanitation is working with municipal managers and technical teams to ensure
local councils use their water infrastructure grants effectively. Support is
being provided, among others, to water infrastructure projects like the
Nooitgedacht water transfer treatment scheme in Nelson Mandela Bay, the Greater
Mbizana Regional Bulk Water Scheme in the Alfred Nzo District Municipality, and
a number of projects in Maluti-a-Phofung in the Free State and Emfuleni and
Midvaal Local Municipalities. National
government and Umgeni Water are helping eThekwini metro to improve the
management of its waste water treatment systems. Similarly, the Drakenstein
municipality in the Western Cape and the Lekwa municipality in Mpumalanga are
being helped to address waste water treatment system challenges. As
announced in the State of the Nation Address in February, government is
proceeding with a number of significant projects to improve our national bulk
water resource infrastructure. Last week, I was in Lesotho to mark the start of
construction of the second phase of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, which
will supply water to Gauteng and its surrounding areas.
As we wait for the results of the investigation
into the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, it is critical that local government
authorities continue to work closely with national government to address and
overcome the immediate challenges with water quality in Hammanskraal.
It is encouraging that the City of Tshwane and
the Department of Water and Sanitation are working together to ensure the
various water supply systems meet drinking quality standards. Quality water and sanitation is fundamental to the
dignity of every South African. I have therefore asked the Minister of Water and Sanitation to make
recommendations to strengthen the governance, management and regulatory
framework for municipal water and sanitation services. This includes ensuring
that national minimum norms and standards are comprehensive, adequately
monitored and adhered to by all water service providers. Disease outbreaks such as the cholera outbreak in
Hammanskraal are made far worse in situations of poor governance, weak
management and poor maintenance of infrastructure. We have responsibility – and
are determined –to remedy those shortcomings in a sustainable way and as a
matter of urgency.
With best regards,