Saving water, supplying water
19 March 2004
National Water Week 2004, which ran from 22-28 March under the theme "water washing away poverty", sought to raise awareness about responsibly conserving water, while taking a look at how far South Africa has come in water management and delivery since 1994.
The week fell in with the country's 10 years of freedom celebrations, and coincided with International Water Day on 22 March.
A decade ago, Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Ronnie Kasrils said in statement, about 14 million South Africans did not have access to safe drinking water, while some 21 million people did not have access to a basic level of sanitation.
Since then, the government has provided almost 10 million South Africans with access to clean water - surpassing the rate of delivery required to meet the millennium targets set by world leaders at the United Nations in 2000, when South Africa joined with 100 other countries in committing to halving the proportion of people
lacking safe water in the world by 2015.
The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry has also spearheaded a free basic water policy which, when implemented by local governments, ensures that households receive up to 6 000 litres of clean water every month at no cost. So far, more than 27 million people are benefiting from the policy.
Kasrils said the government's vision for the next 10 years was to "move people up the water ladder, from communal taps to the convenience and dignity of water in people's own yards, with each household having its own toilet and, in time, to provide hot and cold running water inside their homes".
Providing access to water, particularly for rural communities, Kasrils said, was "about improving their lives beyond mere subsistence".
"Apart from avoiding the hardship of carting water over long distances, there are also other benefits that result directly from having easy access to clean water, improved hygiene and better sanitation,
such as health benefits from reduced transmission of water-borne and other diseases."
The government will launch a National Water Resource Strategy this year to ensure that the objectives of the Constitution and the Water Act are met, the minister said.
"South Africa is a water-stressed country, and this strategy describes the ways in which the country's water resources will be protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled."
Major events taking place during Water Week included the Women in Water Awards on 19 March, the Johannesburg Water Festival on 23 March, and the Baswa le Meetse (Youth in Water) Awards on 26 March.
The Women in Water Awards honour both professional and community-based women who are involved in water management. The Baswa le Metsi awards are presented to schoolchildren or young people who produce inspiring messages about water and sanitation.
Other countrywide events included:
- A community event at the
Midmar Dam in KwaZulu-Natal on 22 March.
- The handover of the Makapanstadt Water Supply and Reticulation project in North West on 23 March.
- The launch of the Japanese-funded Rural Water Projects in Umtata on 24 March.
- The launch of the Mapela Water Works in Limpopo on 25 March.
- The opening of the Rietpoort Water Supply Project in the Western Cape on 28 March.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
| 
