R570-billion needed to address SA's water crisis
Minister for Water and Environmental Affairs Edna Molewa said that over R570-billion will be needed for investment across South Africa's water value chain, in the coming 10 years, the Mail & Guardian reports.
Molewa added that the money will be used to pay for water resources infrastructure, water services and water conservation and demand management across national government, municipalities and the country's existing 12 water boards.
Speaking at a briefing in Cape Town on the progress being made in her department's turnaround strategy, Molewa said that R162-billion was needed for water resources infrastructure, water services required a R394-billion investment, and a further R16-billion will be used for conservation demand management. The vast funding needs raise the probability that water tariffs for consumers will rise in the coming years.
According to the Mail & Guardian, the department's chief operations officer Trevor Balzer said that the figures form part of a long-term investment plan which is currently being finalised. At current funding levels the figures represent a rate of 44%, indicating a shortfall of around R320-billion over the next 10 years. "We've really got to ramp up to meet that target," Balzer said.
Read the full article on http://mg.co.za.
