The Ministries of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation have teamed up to breathe life back into government’s war-on-leaks programme.
Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu directed the departments under their watch to fund and train youth to assist local government to reduce nonrevenue water from malfunctioning infrastructure.
South Africa is losing an average of R7.2-billion a year in nonrevenue water.
The trained youths will be deployed to identified municipalities with high water losses, with affected municipalities properly consulted on the nitty-gritties of rolling out the programme.
Meanwhile, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) reprioritised more than R600-million of its finances towards assisting in the short-term drought interventions.
The National Treasury has also allowed the DWS to use emergency procurement measures in drought stricken areas, while officials from Dlamini-Zuma's departments will assist and guide the affected provincial governments with regard to drought disaster declarations.
Measures will be put in place in the short and medium term, with a specific focus on development, management and use of groundwater.
Other long-term interventions will include the treatment and use of effluent, as well as desalination of sea water.