Opportunity Issue 88 - Sept-Oct 2018

WATER
Irrigate the future
To create jobs and stimulate growth, invest in water
The 4th Annual Water Stewardship
Conference showcased examples
demonstrating that investing in
South Africa’s water sector can create
jobs, spur local economic development,
and deliver a host of social benefits
ranging from improved water
quality to climate change mitigation
and adaptation.
Over 130 senior representatives from
the water sector including officials from
government, industry, finance, civil
society and development organizations
convened in Sandton, Johannesburg
on 3 October for the event, hosted by
GIZ/International Water Stewardship
Programme (IWaSP), the National
Business Initiative (NBI), the Strategic
Water Partners Network (SWPN), and
the Royal Danish Embassy, to explore
how best to leverage the full potential
of investments in the water sector amid
a severe, ongoing national water crisis,
contracting economy, and R33 billion
a year funding shortfall over the next
ten years for the National Water and
Sanitation Master Plan (NWSMP).
“Only by working together to tackle
prioritised challenges can the water
sector ensure that South Africa will
indeed be ‘Ready for the Future and
Ahead of the Curve’,” said Trevor Balzer,
the Deputy Director General Department
of Water and Sanitation, referencing the
collaborative approach that was promoted
by President Ramaphosa during
the launch of the Economic Stimulus and
Recovery Plan, which pursues, among
other priorities, the reprioritisation of
public spending to support job creation
and investing in municipal social infrastructure
improvement.
Restructuring
expenditure into
operation and
maintenance
of existing
groundwater
schemes can act
as a catalyst for
local economic
development
The event featured keynotes and case
studies illustrating the economic
opportunities that can be unlocked
through strategic investment in the
water sector.
A municipal-level case study of
groundwater management schemes in
Blouberg Local Municipality suggested
that restructuring current expenditure
to shift spending away from an overreliance
on capital outlays and into
operation and maintenance of existing
groundwater schemes can act as a catalyst
for local economic development.
“The starting point is how can we
make existing resources go further?
Between us, as local and international
public and private sector, national
government, and local partners,
we have the capacity to make this
happen,” said Jørgen Erik Larsen,
Counsellor for Water, Energy, Research
and Innovation at the Royal Danish
Embassy. “We need to invest more in
operations and maintenance with a
'fix it first' approach.”
A second case study focused the economic
and social benefits of reducing
non-revenue water (NRW), namely
water that is pumped and then lost
or unaccounted for, through project
approaches that engage public, private,
and civil society partners which can
enable resource-constrained municipalities
to access the financing, capacity and
equipment that they lack.
Martin Ginster, Sasol’s Head of
Environment: Water, Waste, Land,
and Biodiversity and member of the
SWPN leadership said: “Already we are
seeing that the public and private sectors
in South Africa are trailblazers in
developing the type of non-traditional
and trust-based partnerships required
to sustainably address our water
challenges. We remain committed to
working with all stakeholders to achieve
a water-secure future for the country.”
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