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ATC231027: Report of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on two petitions tabled by Ms C Phillips (Democratic Alliance) and Ms Sukers (African Christian Democratic Party), dated 24 October 2023

Water and Sanitation

Report of the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on two petitions tabled by Ms C Phillips (Democratic Alliance) and Ms Sukers (African Christian Democratic Party), dated 24 October 2023

 

The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation, having considered the petitions published in the Announcements, Tabling’s and Committee Reports (ATC) dated 7 and 11 June 2023, respectively, lodged by the Honourable Phillips on 7 June 2023 (Petition from the residents of Northern and North-Eastern suburbs of  Rustenburg, North-West Province) and Honourable ME Sukers for the Democratic Alliance (ACDP) dated 11 June 2023 (Petition from the residents of Warrenton, Northern Cape) to investigate the water crisis)  calling on the Assembly to address the following issues raised:

 

 

Ms. C Phillips (DA) presented a petition on behalf of the residents of Rustenburg, where reservoirs were not sufficiently filled and, therefore, could not supply certain areas with water. The lack of sufficient water supply to the residents was due to inadequate maintenance, insufficient tools and equipment, lack of staff, lack of expertise within the staff component, and an outdated manual system. This resulted in insufficient water in the reservoirs and continuous breakdowns.

 

Ms. M Sukers (ACDP) presented a petition on behalf of the Warrenton community, which had gone without water for months and, in some places, for years. Incomplete infrastructure projects and a subsequent flood in the area had caused a lack of water supply. Political favouritism and a lack of response to the community’s pleas had left them in dire straits. And reports as follows:

 

National Assembly Rule 347(1) determines that a petition “must be lodged by a member with the Secretary for approval and tabling by the Speaker and must be signed at the beginning by the member.  Rule 348 states that in the case of general matters (other than financial), after approval by the Speaker, the petition is tabled and referred to the relevant committee as in Rule 350(b).

 

 

 

 

  1. Processing the Petition

 

This report is based on information collected in one meeting held on 5 September 2023 from the two petitioners. The Department of Water and Sanitation was present as observers.

  1. Outcome of Meeting

 

2.1 First Meeting

 

The committee met to collect the relevant information from the petitioners. The two petitions Rustenburg presented to the Committee in a virtual meeting urgently requested assistance from the state to resolve water and sanitation challenges in the respective areas.

 

2.1.1 Rustenburg petition

 

Although Rustenburg has been one of the fastest-growing municipalities since 2015, water services provision to communities was not aligned with the supply and demand needs of a growing population. The lack of water supply has had a detrimental impact on the quality of life of people as well as constraining communities’ efforts to undertake everyday household chores.

 

In further detailing the challenges encountered, Ms Phillips highlighted the following administrative limitations and technical weaknesses inherent within the municipality, further exacerbating the water services provision to communities.  This, in the main, related to:

 

  • State of the municipal administration, which currently did not have a municipal manager, with most of the directors in the municipality in acting positions.
  • The underlying challenges encountered in the municipality resulted in the lack of treated water to fill the reservoirs due to limited or no supplies of technical tools and skilled personnel to manage the manual operation of the water supply system. Inadequate maintenance resulted in significant leaks in the system.

 

2.1.2 Warrenton petition

 

The Warrenton petition by Ms M Sukers (ACDP) highlighted the plea by the residents for the Assembly to investigate the water crisis in the town. The town’s strategic positioning was touted as a valuable economic development process. Still, the impact of chronic service delivery failures, specifically water and sanitation, contributed to the snail's pace of development.

 

In further detailing the challenges encountered, Ms Sukers highlighted the following administrative limitations and technical weaknesses inherent within the municipality, further exacerbating the water services provision to communities.  This, in the main, related to:

 

  • Poor political leadership resulted in a breakdown of trust between residents and the municipality, resulting in social unrest and legal action by the municipality.
  • A water treatment project initiated in 2018, with a completion date set for June 2021 and a funding allocation of R90 million, was incomplete and at a standstill.  The estimated cost to date is approximately R94 million.
  • A bulk water supply pipeline with a budget of R18 million and a completion date of 2021 is incomplete.  The new internal water reticulation project, valued at R22.8 million, is under construction.
  • The February floods and challenges due to non-completion of projects and poor operational infrastructure maintenance resulted in communities without water for seven (7) months.
  • The inconsistent water supply, owing to breakdowns, resulted in water tankers to the value of R1.9 million being allocated to the area. However, selective allocation due to ‘political favouritism’ led to the most vulnerable being forced to use water from the river or buy water per litre.
  • Emergency interim pipeline restoration after the floods was set for completion in May, but this was delayed with no explanation provided.
  • Other concerns raised by community members included the lack of transparency in procurement and contract management, the lack of implementation of audit plans and corrective measures, the lack of technical capacity and expertise, ageing infrastructure, and the incomplete projects that impeded service delivery to the communities of Magareng.

 

Community members also raised the following critical questions, which require responses from the relevant government departments:

  • What happened to the funding of the water treatment plant upgrade, and when would it be completed?
  • What happened to the pipeline funding to connect Ikutseng households to the water supply?
  • What was the total cost breakdown for the emergency water distribution over the seven months, including the interim pipeline project to restore the water supply?
  • What had been the cause of the delay in completing work on the interim and permanent pipelines to restore the water supply – how many contractors had worked on the project?
  • Could there be oversight by both the Departments of Water and Sanitation and Cogta, with a visit to the municipality to improve accountability?

 

  1. Observations

 

Members of the Committee, in engaging in the submission of petitions, responded with the following observations:

2.2.1 Rustenburg

 

  • The submission of petitions must be forwarded to respective departments for responses and action plans with concrete timeframes.
  • The emergent conflict in the municipality with three different entities managing the water supply should be further evaluated to assess whether these contributed to contestations to water supply to specific municipalities.
  • The referral of the petitions by the National Assembly to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation but submitted to the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, as well.
  • The matter is posited mainly within the intergovernmental relations framework, and cooperation amongst all spheres of government is paramount.
  • The National Treasury and associated departments must more closely monitor reporting systems around grant funding for water and sanitation service provision infrastructure.

 

2.2.2 Warrenton

 

  • Intergovernmental relations must be strengthened as many municipalities fail the residents in parts of the country.
  • The blurring of lines between the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs should not cause incorrect referrals of petitions.

 

  1. Resolutions

 

After careful consideration of both petitions, Members of the Committee resolved that:

 

  • Both petitions be referred to the Departments of Water and Sanitation and Traditional Affairs and Cooperation for their responses.  Thereafter, a joint meeting with the departments and petitioners would be called. There was consensus that both matters would be expedited.
  • The Chairperson write to the National Assembly Table or the Unit charged with referrals of petitions to the respective Committee to ensure the correct procedure is followed in assigning petitions.  This is related to the continuous referral to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation on petitions highlighting the challenges communities face in access to water services provision.  The Committee stressed that water services provision falls within the mandate of the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and incorrect referrals result in delays in processing the petitions.

 

Report to be considered.

 

 

 

 

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