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The Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms Dikeledi Madadzi has expressed confidence on the work being carried out by the Department, along with key several stakeholders in the sector towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG6) on water and sanitation.
Deputy Minister Magadzi addressed more than 200 delegates attending a two-day Midterm Review workshop on the Sustainable Development Goals currently underway at the Southern Sun Hotel in Pretoria on Wednesday and Thursday, 22- 23 February 2023.
Delivering a keynote address during the workshop, Deputy Minister Magadzi stated that through the country’s National Water & Sanitation Master Plan and the National Water Resource Strategy in particular, South Africa has developed arguably the most effective operational structure for the implementation of SDG6 on the African continent.
“The National Water & Sanitation Master Plan and the National Water Resource Strategy are logical designs that include experts that cover all the different disciplines required to achieve Target and Indicator objectives and implemented with a systematic approach that identifies respective gaps and offers interventions to closing those gaps,” the Deputy Minister said.
Deputy Minister Magadzi further said that through the designs, a Sanitation Technology Technical Coordination Committee has been established to ensure a coordinated, facilitated, and standardised process for sanitation technology uptake, which is fair, transparent and inclusive.
“Furthermore, a draft Sanitation Technology Uptake Protocol has been developed to guide innovators and the sector on the standard process for assessment and validation of new technologies,” she said.
Deputy Minister Magadzi added that some of the tangible progresses made towards attaining SDGs include the implementation of a National Groundwater Monitoring Programme which is the feeder to the assessment of SDG targets/ indicator as far as groundwater quality is concerned.
“The Department recognises the significance of water conservation and demand management and its contribution towards water use efficiency. By minimising non-revenue water such as high leakages, it removes the burden and capital expenditure of new infrastructure requirements,” she added.
Some of the highlights mentioned by Deputy Minister included the establishment of a Water Partnerships Office in collaboration with the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) and the South African Local Government Association (SALGA). The Office aims to support municipalities with financial structuring, feasibility studies and contracting with the private sector, to harness private sector skills and commercial and blended finance for public-private participations for water and sanitation services.
Deputy Minister Magadzi admitted that there is still much more to be done and urged sector role players to work collaboratively with the Department towards successfully attaining the SDG6 by 2030 and beyond.
“The SDG6 is a sector programme and not just a programme of the Department, and without the right commitment, investment, delivery, and performance of all sector role players, then South Africa will not be where it should be by 2030. It is for this reason that we should work closely and collaboratively going forward,” the Deputy Minister emphasised.
“In this SDG6 programme, we can either win together or we can lose together, and for the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the sector in its entirety, the latter cannot be an option,” concluded Deputy Minister Magadzi.
Link of all Day 1 Presentations from SDG 6 Midterm review for your information.
Issued by the Department of Water & Sanitation
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