Pretoria - Talks about creating a one-government approach to addressing water challenges and ensuring the adequate provision of water to remote communities had to happen sooner rather than later, Minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology Dr Blade Nzimande has said.
He was addressing an awards ceremony hosted by the UN Development Programme in South Africa and the Water Research Commission yesterday.
The ceremony was organised to award seven innovators a collective grant of R3 million to conduct field testing and further develop solutions to address water challenges and waste management.
Nzimande said it was important that all the relevant departments came together to plan for 2030 and look to reducing the impact of the projected 17% deficit in the country’s ability to supply the projected demand.
“We need to ensure that innovative approaches see the light of day, with the government as an enabler, because the truth of the matter is that even though our country has advanced written policies on water, the actual transformation and implementation remains relatively weak.
“We also need to move decisively and ensure that we change the water licence dispensation which continues to be heavily skewed towards apartheid-era beneficiaries.”
To this end he advised that the management of water resources be linked to the Presidential District Development Model to ensure people’s participation as well as foster and support grass root innovations in the management of water and sanitation programmes.
“Water is a finite resource and the manner in which we are mismanaging it on a global and local scale means that it is becoming increasingly more expensive to provide portable water to communities.
“It would be a delight to me if the technologies that were recognised and awarded today could be upscaled and absorbed at the local or municipal level using the District Development Model.”
Grants were awarded to GreenGold Technology, Adsorb Technologies, Hydro Blü, MagnaClear, h-u-m-a-n Life Designs, Trapstuutjies Environmental and ENTEC.
Pretoria News