North West Business 2019 edition
The 2019 edition of North West Business is the ninth issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2009, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the North West Province. North West Business includes news and analysis of the most important sectors, with a regional overview covering the strategic thinking behind plans to attract investment into the province. Best known for its platinum mines, grain and livestock farming and tourism, the province is making a concerted effort to bolster its manufacturing capacity. Updated information on the North West is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to at www.globalafricanetwork.com, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces as well as our flagship South African Business title.
The 2019 edition of North West Business is the ninth issue of this highly successful publication that, since its launch in 2009, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the North West Province.
North West Business includes news and analysis of the most important sectors, with a regional overview covering the strategic thinking behind plans to attract investment into the province. Best known for its platinum mines, grain and livestock farming and tourism, the province is making a concerted effort to bolster its manufacturing capacity.
Updated information on the North West is also available through our monthly e-newsletter, which you can subscribe to at www.globalafricanetwork.com, in addition to our complementary business-to-business titles that cover all nine provinces as well as our flagship South African Business title.
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Water<br />
OVERVIEW<br />
A new body is helping municipalities deliver services.<br />
SECTOR INSIGHT<br />
JB Marks Municipality<br />
regularly wins Green<br />
Drop awards.<br />
South Africa is a water-scarce country and water management<br />
is critical to economic planning. The western part of<br />
<strong>North</strong> <strong>West</strong> Province is particularly dry. In the eastern part<br />
of the province, national government has sent water tanks<br />
to some parts, and has upgraded the treatment plants upstream from<br />
the Hartbeespoort Dam.<br />
Municipalities are charged with delivering water and waste-water<br />
but many of these municipalities have not been equal to the task. A<br />
new body has been formed to help municipalities deliver services. The<br />
Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency (MISA) falls under the National<br />
Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and will<br />
assist municipalities to plan for, provide and maintain infrastructure. The<br />
first action of MISA was to commission 81 engineers and town planners<br />
to get to work in areas that need the most help.<br />
A partnership between the National Departments of Water and<br />
Sanitation and Public Works and the Provincial Government of the <strong>North</strong><br />
<strong>West</strong> has delivered training in solar geyser installation and plumbing to<br />
140 young people in Madibeng.<br />
Maintenance of water works is one of the most serious challenges<br />
facing municipalities in South Africa, with 71% of waste-water treatment<br />
plants being non-compliant. Infrastructure in some cases has not been<br />
serviced for some time, and leaks and skills shortages are problems.<br />
In response to the long-term drought, water tankers organised by<br />
the National Department of Water and Sanitation and the provincial<br />
ONLINE RESOURCES<br />
Blue Drop Awards: www.ewisa.co.za<br />
National Department of Water and Sanitation: www.dwa.gov.za<br />
South African Association of Water Utilities: www.saawu.org.za<br />
Water Research Commission: www.wrc.org.za<br />
government dug several boreholes<br />
to supplement supply.<br />
Three of South Africa’s six major<br />
catchment areas are located in the<br />
province: the Limpopo, the Orange<br />
and the Vaal. Within these catchment<br />
areas, only the Vaal River has<br />
a strong-enough flow to allow for<br />
significant amounts of water to be<br />
taken from it directly to support irrigation<br />
or industry. There are four<br />
water-management areas in the<br />
province, three of which are linked<br />
to the Vaal River. Water is imported<br />
into the provincial system through<br />
transfers between water basins.<br />
The province has 83 sewagetreatment<br />
plants, and the national<br />
Blue Drop award system has found<br />
most of them need a lot of improvement.<br />
JB Marks Local Municipality,<br />
which has Potchefstroom as its main<br />
town, is one of only three municipalities<br />
in the country that acts as<br />
a water-service authority and as a<br />
service provider. It has won awards<br />
for its levels of service. For two consecutive<br />
years to 2016/17, the municipality’s<br />
waste-water works won<br />
Green Drop awards.<br />
The biggest service providers<br />
active in the <strong>North</strong> <strong>West</strong> are:<br />
• Rand Water<br />
• Magalies Water<br />
• Sedibeng Water<br />
• Midvaal Water Company supplies<br />
water to Matlosana (Klerksdorp).<br />
41 NORTH WEST BUSINESS <strong>2019</strong>
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