THURSDAY, 7 JUNE 2001 __

          PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES
                                ____

The Council met at 14:06.

The Deputy Chairperson took the Chair and requested members to observe a moment of silence for prayers or meditation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS - see col 000.

                          NOTICE OF MOTION

Mr K D S DURR: Chairperson, I hereby give notice that I shall move at the next sitting of the Council:

That the Council -

(1) in the light of the recent news of the disproportionate remuneration paid to the former head of the SAA, Mr Coleman Andrews, and to the New Zealand advisers to the Post Office, calls upon the Government to -

   (a)  place a moratorium on the use of foreign consultants; and


   (b)  recruit talented South Africans that are and always have been
       available to fulfil the necessary management roles; and

(2) further calls on the Government to carefully examine all similar contracts currently under way and to assess whether they should not be terminated in the public interest.

Mr A E VAN NIEKERK: Mr Chairperson, on a point of order: We have initiated a motion like that during the week and we request the Chair to take a look at that before accepting this notice of motion.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M L Mushwana): Order! I am advised there was a similar motion, but this is a notice of motion, which automatically goes under the light. It is necessary to look at it. SPECIAL SECURITY UNIT FOR DA-CONTROLLED UNICITY

                         (Draft Resolution)

Mr P D N MALOYI: Chairperson, I move without notice:

That the Council -

(1) notes with concern the plans by the DA-controlled Unicity Council to spend millions of taxpayers’ rands on the establishment of a special unit which will be responsible for the security of the mayor, Peter Marais, his home and family, as well as other Unicity councillors;

(2) further notes that -

   (a)  thousands of residents on the Cape Flats are caught in the
       crossfire of warring gangsters on a daily basis;


   (b)  many innocent children and residents have already died as a
       result of this; and


   (c)  their schooling and social lives have been severely disrupted;

(3) believes it is morally indefensible for a government who has been voted into power by the people on the Cape Flats to continue to ignore the suffering experienced by those communities; and

(4) calls on the DA-led Unicity to get its priorities in order and rather spend those millions on improving the security of residents who have become prisoners in their own homes as a result of continuous gang fighting.

Mr A ACKERMANN: Dis ‘n skande! [It’s a disgrace]

Mr P D N MALOYI: I hope the hon member is sober.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M L Mushwana): Order! Is there any objection to the motion?

Mr A E VAN NIEKERK: Chairperson, I just want to add an amendment to the motion.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M L Mushwana): Order! What is the amendment?

Mr A E VAN NIEKERK: Chairperson, I request that we amend the motion by adding, wherever the hon member mentioned DA'' andUnicity’’, ``ANC executive’’ as well.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M L Mushwana): Order! Mr Maloyi, do you agree to the amendment?

Mr P D N MALOYI: No, that suggestion is not on.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M L Mushwana): Order! The amendment is not accepted. Since there is an objection, the motion may not be proceeded with. The motion without notice will now become notice of a motion.

             INCIDENCE OF HEART ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA

                         (Draft Resolution)

Mnr J HORNE: Voorsitter, ek stel voor sonder kennisgewing:

Dat die Raad - (1) met skok kennis neem dat meer as 50 000 Suid-Afrikaners jaarliks hartaanvalle kry, van wie 12 000 sterf;

(2) verder kennis neem dat volgens die Suid-Afrikaanse Hartstigting meer Suid-Afrikaners teen die jaar 2010 aan koronêre siektes as aan Vigs sal sterf en dat slegs drie ander lande ‘n hoër insidensie van hartaanvalle het; en

(3) ‘n beroep doen op Suid-Afrikaners en die gesondheidsowerhede om, soos in die geval van die Vigsprobleem, ook dringend geskikte voorsorgmaatreëls te tref om hartaanvalle tot die minimum te beperk. (Translation of Afrikaans notice of motion follows.)

[Mr J HORNE: Chairperson, I move without notice:

That the Council -

(1) notes with shock that more than 50 000 South Africans suffer heart attacks annually, of whom 12 000 die;

(2) further notes that, according to the South African Heart Foundation, more South Africans will die of coronary diseases than of Aids by the year 2010 and that only three other countries have a higher incidence of heart attacks; and

(3) urgently calls on South Africans and the health authorities to take appropriate precautionary measures, as in the case of the Aids problem, to minimise heart attacks.]

Motion agreed to in accordance with section 65 of the Constitution.

                         APPROPRIATION BILL

                           (Policy debate)

Vote No 33 - Water Affairs and Forestry:

The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Chairperson, to quote a Chinese sage of 2 500 years ago, Of all things soft and tender there is nothing like water.'' There is no sexist remark there.It alone can wear away the hardest rock.’’ They knew very well how to handle water, and I think women as well.

Water is also hard and violent, and can sweep away all in its path. It is the lifeblood of our planet. Humanity has always sought to control its flow. All civilisations and societies owe their existence to this precious resource. Metso ke bophelo. Amanzi ayi mpilo. Water is life.

Of our available water resources, 52% is used for agriculture and irrigation, 8% for our forestry, 11% for our industry and 10% for our domestic use, and 19% is reserved to ensure a sustainable environment.

While my department is working tirelessly to manage our water resources for the future - no simple task in this our drought-prone country with variable rainfall - the immediate priority is to supply all our people with safe and clean water.

Since 1994, my department has provided 6,5 million people with clean and safe water at a cost of R4,4 billion, and 5,6 million of those to full RDP standard, that is 25 litres per person a day at a tap or standpipe that is no more than 200 metres from the household.

In addition, a further 800 000 to 900 000 people have bulk schemes providing them with water and still awaiting further reticulation into the villages. This brings the total benefiting to date, the record of this Government, to 7,3 million.

Since I spoke in the National Assembly, I have looked at the figures and we have been able to add that 800 000 to 900 000, which is not the figure I have referred to before. So we can actually say it is 7,3 million.

Let me give the National Council a breakdown of figures, given the fact that the members here nobly represent all our nine provinces. In KwaZulu- Natal 1,3 million people have been served; in the Eastern Cape, 1,1 million; in the Northern Province, just under a million, at 987 000 to date; in the North West, 1,2 million; in Mpumalanga, 854 000; in the Free State, 535 000; and in the Northern Cape, 219 000 - a high figure, given that we are talking about a very small fraction of the population. In the Western Cape, which mainly is served through the municipalities - I know there are a number of members here from this lovely province - most of our people have water on tap in their homes. Nevertheless, 122 000 have been served.

Mr C ACKERMANN: [Inaudible.]

The MINISTER: Wait for your turn to speak, hon member.

It is important that we focus on KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Northern Province, because 80% of the backlog exists in those three provinces. In the next three years in those provinces, 2,4 million people will be provided with amanzi, metsi, with our Government’s budget supplemented from those three provinces by aid from the European Union and other donors. Let me hasten to say, I have not said to the European Union we only want aid for those three provinces. This is their decision. It is because of that figure of 80% of the backlog that exists in those enormous provinces with tremendous poverty.

Within the next seven years, we will be able to celebrate, all of us. Water is colourless, odourless and has no taste, or it should not, unless there are too many chemicals in it. But all of us, every South African, irrespective of our party affiliation, pigmentation, language, religion, background and so on, we will celebrate, and I know that all members will celebrate with us.

The fact that all our people, virtually in seven years at this rate, will now have safe drinking water means that the pledge of our Government to provide for all will have been achieved. That is why I say phambili ngamanzi, pele ka metsi. [Forward with water!]

We have come to a historical stage at which a basic amount of 6 000 litres of this precious liquid can be provided to all our people for free. Many municipalities are already on the way to implementing the free basic water programme, amongst them are Humansdorp, Port Elizabeth, De Wetsdorp in the Free State, Cape Town, Kenhardt in the Northern Cape, Thekwini in Durban, Kokstad in Greytown in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, Delmas in Mpumalanga and Lichtenburg in the North West. The Johannesburg Metropolitan Council will be following within a month, and the same applies to Tshwane, Pretoria, Kimberley and so on, they are all rolling in on this.

User-friendly implementation guidelines have been developed for local government. These are being explained, very patiently and thoroughly, by my department to councillors and officials at provincial workshops. We are not claiming that everybody is going to be up and running on 1 July. Not all municipalities will be able to implement this free basic water policy at that point in time. I do not have the expertise, the economies of scale and so on of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, Durban and so on. But what I can say to this Council today is that at least 20 million, that is half of the population, will be covered by 1 July 2001.

This will include over 5 million of our rural people currently served by my department. Other rural areas with limited capacity and opportunity for cross subsidization … [Interjections.]

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M L Mushwana): Order! Would you take your seat, hon Minister?

Mr C ACKERMANN: May I ask the Minister, seeing that he is on that subject now, whether I may ask a question specifically relevant to KwaZulu-Natal when he has the opportunity?

The MINISTER: There is question time, and I would ask the hon members to restrain their enthusiasm. I have already welcomed their enthusiasm, but I must get through. I have 30 minutes and I would like all the members to receive the pearls of wisdom in my paper. The questions will come, there is going to be question time after everybody has had a chance from all the parties.

The DEPUTY CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP (Mr M L Mushwana): Order! You can proceed, hon Minister.

The MINISTER: The hon member is most welcome. I am talking about 5 million, and other rural areas with limited capacity and opportunity for cross- subsidisation may have to adopt a phased approach and will be the subject of our special attention.

The provision of free basic water and cost recovery are by no means mutually exclusive, and members must take that message back to the provinces. In order to provide the free basic water, cost recovery is going to be intensified from those who use above the 6 000 litre mark.

We are justifiably proud of our record, but we are not complacent. The past summer’s cholera outbreak, which started in KwaZulu - Natal here we are, the member was waiting for it patiently - was a wake-up call, not only for me, but for all of us.

To date, as we know, it has affected 100 000 people. I noticed this morning that two more have perished. My speech here had 207 deaths and it is now

1. While it is receding at present, which it is, it may well flare up next summer from August or September, and I am sure it will.

The Department of Health has been in the forefront of dealing with those stricken, and they responded magnificently. They rehydrated the victims and kept the fatality rate down to under half a percent. It is actually something like 0,2% to 0,3%.

There is a lot of news about our country, sometimes negative. We are not the only country to suffer from cholera. It has hit Asia, Africa, Latin America and parts of Europe. We are the only country that has kept the death rate down to such a low level at half a per cent. It seems to be 0,2% to 0,3%.

The figure generally expected is 6% to 7%, and what does that say about the commitment of our health workers in this country? We can be very proud. My department worked like Trojans to assist. Ek is baie trots op hulle. [I am very proud of them.] They distributed bleach for household water purification, and delivered safe water by tankers to those dispersed villages. They participated in the health education programme, and we were able to reallocate R35 million at a moment’s notice to that province of KwaZulu-Natal in order to fast-track water and sanitation improvement in two months.

We repaired disused boreholes, protected springs and provided almost 100 000 people with safe water in most areas of KwaZulu-Natal, and over 50 000 through the erection of 6 000 pit latrines. In combating the epidemic my department spent R46 million in KwaZulu-Natal, but other provinces were affected as well.

In the Northern Province, we managed to provide R1,8 million to contain the epidemic. We provided certain funds for Mpumalanga as well. In the Eastern Cape, where we expected the epidemic to cross from KwaZulu-Natal, R1 million was provided. The Western Cape and Gauteng had one or two cases of people who had travelled back to their own province, KwaZulu-Natal.

I also announced that my department would spend R100 million annually for the next three years to speed up water and sanitation provision in the cholera-affected communities of KwaZulu-Natal, but not only there. I do expect that members will understand why the focus was there. It is because of the climate, humidity and conditions.

During this year, 99 water and sanitation projects are being fast-tracked for KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and the Northern Province, and that will cost us R60 million. This cholera outbreak has taught us other things. It taught us to be prepared. This year, the joint operation of centres will be mobilised well before summer begins. It also taught us that the provision of safe water is not enough, because it must be three-pronged first, safe water; second, sanitation; and third, a massive health and hygiene programme of education - if we are to eradicate not only cholera, but all water-borne diseases. I am using the following statement: As a nation we must focus on sanitation. I am sure that hon members will all agree.

We are preparing to speed up the sanitation programme. The backlog is over 3 million households, that is about 18 million people. Over 80%, however, have some form of rudimentary do-it-yourself toilets. So, if we are going to deal with this incredible backlog in very difficult and different conditions across our country, we must base our strategy on the realities on the ground.

We must help our people to improve their home-built toilets, so that these are more adequate, environmentally friendly and hygienic. It would be wonderful if we could replace those toilets with modern, up-to-date toilets. We are not going to be able to do that overnight, but can over quite a number of years.

My approach is to improve what is there in those ways, whilst, at the same time, focusing high-impact Government interventions especially on the most vulnerable. One target must be - we referred to this yesterday in this august Council - the 420 000 households with the bucket system, which still unfortunately exists and needs to be eradicated.

Let me admit that previous efforts to improve sanitation have not been adequate. I have instituted a review to get the strategy and planning right. We must get that right, before throwing money at the problem. We must know how best to make the rand work better.

I will be taking a new sanitation policy, as well as a detailed implementation strategy, to Cabinet shortly. I want to pledge to members that getting to grips with the sanitation problem is my priority, and my department’s. I look forward to being interrogated by the members in a year’s time. Members will say to me, ``Minister, so what did you do? We heard the talk and what about the walk?’’

The rural areas are not the only places facing sanitation challenges. In addition to pollution from mines and industry, ailing or nonexistent urban sewerage systems are a major source of the pollution of our rivers, in all of our provinces.

While pollution in rivers is monitored by my department, we cannot escape the crucial and indeed, the constitutional role - and I am not passing the buck - of local government. I have extensive reports of sewer spillages from over 95 local authorities in the past year. Some of these incidents result from floods, which is a natural problem, but some are from less excusable problems, such as poor maintenance and lack of repair. While in all cases reported to the department my officials investigated problems and recommended remedial action to the local authorities, I must say that the response is often inadequate. I will be following this matter up with the relevant local government MECs, as well as with the municipalities.

With the assistance of Danish Co-operation for environment and development, the department is addressing pollution in informal settlements. The problems include human waste and sullage, dirty washing water running into nearby rivers, and inadequate rubbish removal. The programme, which introduces practical measures to deal with these problems, is being piloted in every province. We have got a pilot project at Phagameng near Nylstroom, Monnakato near Rustenburg, Cairn near Nelspruit, Kliptown in Soweto, Phuthaditjhaba in the Free State, Masizakhe near Colesberg, Burlington Halt near Durban, Rini near Grahamstown and Kaya Mandi near Stellenbosch. So we have a pilot in each one of the provinces.

Let me end on the note here that to support pollution control activities during this year, my department will spend R9 million in the Western Cape, R8 million in the Northern Province, R19 million in KwaZulu-Natal, R6 million in the North West, R6 million in the Eastern Cape, R4 million in the Northern Cape, R4 million in the Free State, R3 million in Mpumalanga and R13 million in my home province, where I was born, Gauteng.

Our experience highlights the critical role of local government, which I have referred to already. We are moving towards a situation in which newly elected local governments are progressively taking responsibility for all basic services. Municipalities can choose to deliver water services using in-house municipal water departments. They can create utilities run and owned by themselves. They can contract international companies or use existing public sector utilities, such as our magnificent water boards, to deliver these services.

Let me come to the water boards. Skills, expertise and know-how are key requirements. Since many of our municipalities lack these resources at present, we are fortunate to have this family of water boards, established by the Government, which can offer assistance. And I wish to highlight their role. The oldest such utility is Rand Water, which has supplied the needs of Gauteng and surrounding provinces for over 100 years without a cent in support from Government. It and other water boards are at the service of municipalities. These boards are truly a public sector alternative for municipalities which need help to provide water services, and we should not underestimate their capacity, which is admired worldwide.

Water boards cannot solve all the problems of local government. Options, such as private-sector contracts must also be considered, but they are not cure-alls, as we have learnt from recent experiences in Nelspruit and the Dolphin Coast. And we really cannot allow tariff rises to be passed on willy-nilly to customers, as is the attempt at present at Dolphin and in Durban. For this reason, I am anxious to conclude the regulations governing contracts between municipalities and service providers, be they public or private, which my department and I have long completed and provided a year ago for public comment. But I must say that this is being delayed currently in a Nedlac consultation process with the unions.

Beyond this, we need to begin a dialogue on how we can fashion existing and capable public sector utilities into delivery systems which can be a real service to municipalities. We need to ensure that water boards reinvent themselves as utilities which municipalities can regard as their utilities. To achieve this, I am committed to maintaining sound governance arrangements, a matter to which I am currently giving attention in the context of recent concerns in regard to Umgeni Water and about which I will be making announcements within the next few days. Umgeni has been experiencing some rather stormy weather, but I do believe that we will provide the bridge over troubled waters … [Interjections.] … to quote from a song of my youth.

Critically, we must develop a relationship of trust in which the public sector water utilities keep open books with their municipal clients and are subject to regulation and audit. In this context, I am encouraging Salga and the SA Association of Water Utilities, formerly the water boards, to meet soon to explore these possibilities.

The department works for the economy as a whole, not just for domestic water users. It is obviously committed to supporting equitable social development and eradicating poverty, especially in the rural areas. In this context, the implementation of the Integrated Rural Development Strategy is of great importance to my department.

I will be visiting Pietersburg next week, in fact on Monday, to discuss with the political leadership of the province and local government our progress in ensuring that the programmes of my department and the national Government generally reflect and reinforce the local priorities and development strategies. Delegations of other Ministers will be visiting each and every province.

A key element of the Government’s rural development strategy is the provision of support to emerging farmers. The good news for this vital community - it is a vital community - is that the department has developed a financial assistance policy for emerging farmers, those previously disadvantaged, who are members of water users’ associations. Farmers on Government water schemes managed by water users’ associations will be subsidised for five years. This programme will eventually assist 8 000 - plus emerging farmers on over 21 000 hectares of irrigation land: 3 000 in the Eastern Cape, 1 500 in the Northern Province and over 1 100 in the Western Cape.

Further, capital cost subsidies will be paid for the construction of new or the rehabilitation of existing irrigation schemes owned by water users’ associations. In this year’s budget, R20 million has been allocated to ensure affordable access to productive water for at least 400 emerging farmers.

I want to come to ground water. We must make sure that we make full use of all our water resources and not forget what I would like to call the hidden treasure found in many areas of our water-stressed country, and that treasure is ground water. In this sector ground water is the ``ondergrondse water’’, the water actually under the ground. That in the rivers and the dams is service water.

While ground water accounts for only 15% of our water resources, it is widely distributed in these underground aquifers that underlie our land, and has historically served farmers and many of our rural communities, going back to ancient times, long before the Europeans came to this country.

I was amazed to see the water treasures of an aquifer revealed by a deep borehole at a lovely place called Citrusdal in the Western Cape. Ground water scientists believe that what is called the Table Mountain aquifer is not just here in Cape Town but stretches from Citrusdal to near eBhayi - Port Elizabeth. The Table Mountain group is a significant resource. Conservative estimates indicate that it could yield as much as 100 million m3 annually for the Peninsula area, and 45 million m3 annually for the west coast of this province, which is under the Olifant-Doring Water Management Area.

This will be taken into account in our planning to meet the economic and social requirements of the Western Cape region. Specifically, in line with our policy for an integrated approach to water supply, my department will consider the conjunctive use of surface and ground water together to increase supply to this city, as well as confirming the potential yields and investigating the environmental impacts of large-scale exploitation of the ondergrondse water.

An important benefit of ground water is that it is protected, to some extent, from pollution by the soil and rock under which it is found, and also from evaporating. During the recent cholera outbreak in KwaZulu-Natal, some communities were successfully served with new wells and boreholes funded by the Red Cross and other NGOs such as Christian action groups. I really want to applaud their efforts in providing safe and uncontaminated ground water in that crisis.

When considering how best to meet the needs of those without an adequate water supply, I am encouraging all concerned to carefully assess ground water options. In the Northern Province, for instance, a recent assessment found that ground water could more cheaply provide water for local communities than the alternative, which was the raising of the Glen Alpine Dam at considerable costs. So we must look at the options and not forget the ground water option. In the most arid province, the Northern Cape, careful management and monitoring of ground water - which is not of great quality, but there is nothing else - has ensured that it can successfully sustain many communities, although the high level of minerals limits its use. With ground water, as with other sources, good management is critical. In the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal numerous homeland ground water schemes failed because of poor management and the failure to engage the communities in the process. The same applies to Mpumalanga and the far north. This problem is being addressed in the North West province through a programme supported by the Norwegian government to build local understanding of and capacity to manage this hidden treasure.

Our forests, amahlathi, are a great national heritage, but their importance is perhaps felt more profoundly at rural level. Our indigenous forests are a great store of our nation’s history and spiritual life. They are a source of healing in the form of traditional medicine, umuthi, and play an important role in everyday life, especially in the Northern Province, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and some parts of the Western Cape.

We are now managing these forests in a participatory way. The UK and Danish governments are assisting us to retrain foresters as well as community members, and we have seen the results in many parts of the country with much greater community co-operation.

We also seek to end the fragmented way in which conservation is managed. In the Knysna area, for example, four different Government conservation agencies manage different pieces of land. Here, we may suggest that the National Parks Board takes management responsibility.

Some members of this House have taken a great interest in the restructuring of the commercial forests. I am especially pleased that 164 communities in the Eastern Cape have formed the Singalanga Trust, to take 10% of the shares in the Singisi Forest Products company, which is buying this asset.

Community arrangements have also been put in place in KwaZulu-Natal for packages which are being bought by the Siyaqhubeka Consortium. In addition, the department is involved in discussions with three communities in northern KwaZulu-Natal regarding the possible leasing out of the Mbazwana and Manzengwenya plantations.

Viva mahlathi, viva zwa madaka! [Well done, Forestry!]

A flagship initiative of the Government, the Working for Water programme, cleared more than 350 000 ha of that invasive alien vegetation. When we say ``aliens’’, here, we are referring not to human beings, but to trees.

In the process, temporary employment was created for over 22 000 people, drawn from the poorest of the poor and the rural areas. Almost 60% were women. Broken down regionally, over 7 000 jobs were created in KwaZulu- Natal, over 3 600 in the Western Cape and over 2 100 in the Eastern Cape. The programme also created over 1 600 jobs in the Northern Province, over 1 380 in the North West and Gauteng, and almost 1 000 in the Northern Cape and over 1 000 in Mpumalanga.

This year’s exchequer budget amounts to R3 279 million, and is an increase of R405 million over last year’s. It has been augmented by allocations from the Treasury’s poverty and infrastructure funds, and has been further boosted by the donor funding I referred to - that massive R500 million grant from the European Union. This grant reflects the resounding vote of confidence in my department and our Government.

I have therefore been able to announce that for the first time since 1997, we have, as a department, over R1 billion for this year and for the next two years of that budget which is allocated to the community water and sanitation programme. These funds will be used in order to ensure that the targets that I have referred to are reached. This is in addition to the R690 million spent on operating water service schemes.

For the rest of the budget R880 million is for our water resources, R336 million for forestry and R203 million for administration. An additional R1 696 million will be spent on operating water resource infrastructure funded from income received.

Finally, I would like to recognise with gratitude the role of my department and my director-general, Mike Muller, and his team, who are here with us today. The team that I have brought with us to the NCOP today represents top management from Pretoria, but also, in most cases, our regional directors from all nine provinces. I would like to acknowledge the immense work that all of them have done. I would also like all hon members to note how this department is transforming as a department with a team that can draw on the expertise and experience of all the people of our country, male and female and of whatever pigmentation. The department is really moving in that direction. [Applause.]

I would like to particularly welcome Mr Nick Lesufe, who has recently been appointed as our regional director in the Free State. I want to thank them all and I really, and they will, appreciate the hon members’ applause. I would like to ask the NCOP to support this allocation and I would like to thank members for their keen interest in Water Affairs and Forestry and the support that they provide in their provinces to our Arbor Week and national Water Week. [Applause.]

Rev P MOATSHE: Chairperson, hon Minister Ronnie Kasrils, members of the department here present, hon members of this House, MECs, special delegates and members of the public observing our proceedings, I have a report before me that comes from my constituency. I believe it is imperative for me to bring this report to the attention of the Minister.

It is a progress report for the Bapong, Modderspruit and Majakaneng environment bulk water supply project. The rural villages of Modderspruit, Bapong and Majakaneng are located between Rustenburg and Brits, which form the southern gateway to the North West province at the intersection of the N4 and the Sun City main road, and fall within the Madibeng local municipality’s area of jurisdiction, that is NW372.

In these poor communities approximately 30 000 people do not have access to an adequate supply of clean, fresh water, which has resulted in the deterioration of the environment, education and health conditions. The urgency of our plea for support is substantiated by recent unconfirmed reports of cholera cases recorded in some of these villages.

A bulk water supply project for the area was initiated during 1998, and the first phase of construction was completed by the middle of 2000. The eastern district council contributed a sum of R1,5 million and the province contributed a sum of R4,5 million for phase one.

This water supply project involves the design and construction of bulk water supply pipelines from Brits to Modderspruit, as well as a pump station and a reservoir. A feasibility study for the whole project - phase one and phase two - has been completed but, as a result of a shortage of funds, only phase one of the project was completed. Phase two of this project is linked closely to the initial phase. The success of the overall project depends on the implementation of phase two.

Therefore, it is important for the Minister to know that there are projects that are started but not completed. It would be extremely important when new budgets are brought to the fore that uncompleted projects be considered first.

In front of us is the Budget Vote for water, forestry and affairs relating to the two. Most important is the steadfast attempt by this ANC to deal with issues in an integrated fashion. I will, hopefully, through this presentation be able to demonstrate the interrelations between challenges confronting us in this and other departments. A solid foundation is a prerequisite for a house that will stand the test of normal weather conditions, including, to an extent, anomalies, depending on intensity. My belief is that over the past six years we have been doing exactly that, laying the foundation upon which we can build a prosperous nation.

This Budget Debate on Vote 33, using our new Medium-Term Expenditure Framework terminology, presents to us means through which we can positively impact on the lives of ordinary South Africans. I have chosen to quite deliberately assume the role of doing the general introduction for this Budget Vote. Such an introduction, broad or general as it may be, would be in support of this Vote. If I were asked to state whether this department, in collaboration with others, plays its role in delivering to the masses of our people, especially to what those masses through the ballot demanded of us, the answer would be a big yes.

If another question were whether this department is confronted with numerous challenges like many, and continues to grapple with those challenges without what could be termed dereliction of duty, the answer again would be yes. I would hasten to add to the latter that with the ultimate support in terms of legislation and political conviction by the majority party, ensuring delivery has not been too much of a struggle, since such an endeavour runs central to our mandate.

I would now like to move on to deal, not in so much detail, with exploring the role that is currently being played by this department, vis-à-vis future challenges and the special role it holds in fulfilling the promises of a better life for all our people. In our Bill of Rights, it is stated that all South Africans are entitled to potable and clean water. Our policies go on to specify how much each person, depending on their allocation, consumes on a daily basis.

Moreover, this Government, again in tandem with the Constitution, is specific in terms of how far or close that water should be that is delivered - within 200 metres.

The ANC promised in its election manifesto and undertook to provide free basic water to the masses of our people. It is through this House and this Vote, in particular, that we will have to see to it that resources are in place to deliver on that pledge.

Our biggest challenge is delivering this water to the most needy - those in the rural areas, the former homelands, the urban poor occupying the slums on the periphery of the city and a lot more other indigent people found in various places of our country.

This legacy left to us by the previous government is not something that can be resolved by a mere push of a button or by wishing. It is in that vein that one must not only appreciate but also applaud the majority of the group I have mentioned who are patiently waiting for a tap to be installed closer to their compounds.

Water is a commodity that most of us take for granted, but is a luxury to many people in our country. Its essential role in improving lives cannot be overstated. Many people still die from disease-infested water oozing through open sewers. Many succumb to preventable diseases, most of which are waterborne because people had to try cleaning the water using ineffective means that did not destroy the bacteria.

As the ANC, though this is no fault of our own, we have undertaken to rectify this, together with many other injustices that were perpetrated by the apartheid regime. Each time we gather here and participate in these Votes, each time we increase our budget, each time we fortify our resolve in providing better services, we bring hope and prosperity to many who by now would have given up on living.

I am sure we would agree that the ANC, through its policies and its influence on Government policy, including executing those policies, is doing what most South Africans, particularly the disadvantaged, would and do applaud as addressing their plight. To echo the President and the Minister of Finance, we are on course.

This journey, as I mentioned earlier, is not without challenges. Those who take the time to reflect on these challenges would agree that they are formidable, but not insurmountable.

One of the biggest challenges we face, once again in the former homelands and, to some extent, in other areas, is co-ordinating the implementation of policy and spending the budget to address the needs of the target groups.

The apartheid government structures were against prosperity in the black areas, and thus one finds formidable obstacles in delivering services to the needy, because either some ordinances are counterproductive or those in charge are antiprogress. We are grappling with this and I am convinced that we will triumph as so often good does over evil.

We therefore need to work closely with local government as the delivery tier of our Government and to make sure that this is done as speedily as it should be. I am sure that the hon the Minister addressed these issues in the executive. We have already seen some remarkable improvements in rolling out some of the collaborative programmes, in this department and in others.

Another obstacle that requires immediate attention is that of building capacity. The hon the Minister of Education, Minister Asmal, hinted that he is attending to adult education and we encourage and welcome his revised plan or move.

Adult education is not something new. Ask any education specialist or consultant in the field or advertise a tender and one will receive a flurry of proposals, many of which would claim to understand what our people need.

As far as I can recall, it was in the same vein that Verwoerd in 1954 proclaimed his views. In essence, solutions to our problems require that we, the affected, actively undertake to address them ourselves. We are proud of our President’s decision to holistically address matters concerning the reorientation of Government business to the benefit of the previously marginalised.

We continue to seek means by which we can deal with specific developmental challenges arising from past injustices. In our current Government, mainly in the form of changing the mindset of the state machinery, such an envisaged change entails a zeal to deliver to the masses of our people, the majority of whom are poor and cannot survive without Government support.

There are a number of issues I will raise, time permitting, regarding forestry and the role it could play in conservation, provision of fuel wood, job creation and the integration of the marginalised into the sector. I hope that as we debate these issues they will be dealt with.

We still have a long way to go. Nonetheless, we should pride ourselves on taking power and doing exactly what our people expected of us. We need to recognise and thank our people for the patience they have displayed as we grappled with the levers at our disposal in an attempt to deliver speedily on their needs.

We have learned a great deal and would like to warn or alert the department that we will be watching them closely as per our oversight role. We present ourselves to them as a resource upon which they can draw for bouncing off ideas in the policy formulation and implementation stages.

In conclusion, we as the ANC are serious when we state that we need to give our people a better life. We respect the Constitution, especially its Bill of Rights, and will do all in our power to honour those rights. Through this Vote we take yet another significant step towards that better life.

Chairperson, I thank you for the opportunity to speak in this very important debate. We support this Vote. I want to thank the select committee and the department for working very hard. [Applause.]

Dr E A CONROY: Hon Chairperson, hon Minister Kasrils and colleagues, in this debate on Water Affairs and Forestry, I will limit my allocated time to one subject which merits a debate on its own, namely water.

As an introduction I wish to quote a very appropriate passage from the Water Research Commission’s report for the year 2000 with which I can identify.

Water is arguably one of the most precious natural resources on earth and whose fundamental importance needs minimal justification. Indeed, social and economic development would scarcely be possible without an adequate supply of the appropriate quality of water.

I doubt that anyone in this House would fault that statement. I would, however, add my own amendment by saying that it is, in fact, the most precious natural resource on earth. At this point I wish to invite the House and the Minister to join me in a toast to water. To water! [Interjections.] [Applause.] [Laughter.]

Will you give me extra time for that wasted?

The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: You can have a minute of my time.

Dr E A CONROY: Without water, life on Planet Earth would not be possible. As a matter of fact, if one takes the example of the waterless planet Mars, there would be no life at all, whether it be plant, animal or human life. According to my learned colleague the hon Flip Nel, the human body consists of more than 92% water.

This precious resource, or the limited supplies we have of it, is managed by one department, namely Water Affairs and Forestry. Just imagine the huge responsibility it carries and all the criticism it must endure. I will therefore desist from adding any criticism to that which it has already endured and that which might be expressed today. I would even venture to say that considering the important role it plays and the work that still has to be done, it would most probably warrant a bigger slice of the budget cake.

In its strategic plan for the present financial year, the department identifies, inter alia, the following laudable key focus areas, namely a reliable and equitable supply of water for domestic and water-dependent economic activities; a reliable supply of and access to water to support equitable social development including the eradication of poverty; the protection of water-based ecosystems and the ensuring of adequate water and land-based ecosystems; and the development and supporting of effective water management and water services institutions. The last, namely effective water management services, is, in my opinion, probably the most important, as it will be supplying the support and back-up services for the other key focus areas to become a reality.

Ek wil stilstaan by een van die sleutel fokus-areas, naamlik die soeke na en ontwikkeling van betroubare en volhoubare bronne van water vir huishoudelike en ander waterafhanklike ekonomiese bedrywighede.

Ons is bewus van die waternood wat tans in die Wes-Kaap ondervind word as gevolg van die onselfsugtige optrede van die DA-beheerde regering wat toelaat dat al sy reënbelaaide wolke na die ander ANC-oorheersde provinsies wegwaai, soos ‘n moeder wat sorg dat haar kinders eerste drink voordat sy haar eie dors les.

Dit is daarom verblydend dat die Departement, in samewerking met die waternavorsingskommissie, ondersoek doen na die moontlike gebruik van die ondergrondse varswatervoorraad uit die sogenaamde Skiereiland ``aquifer’’ van die Tafelberggroep, diep onder die Wes-Kaap.

Die gedeelte van die Tafelberggroep rondom Kaapstad verteenwoordig ‘n potensiaal om grondwater, wat met standaardbehandeling geskik vir menslike gebruik sal wees, aan die Groter Kaapstad verbruikersarea te verskaf.

Hoewel daar volgens die agb Minister nog nie duidelikheid bestaan oor die werklik beskikbare hoeveelhede nie, word daar blykbaar bespiegel oor ‘n hoeveelheid van sowat 100 miljoen kubieke meter per jaar.

Dit is onder meer inisiatiewe soos dié en andere, soos die moontlikheid om reënwolke met kristalle te besaai om die reënval te verhoog, wat mens opgewonde maak en hoop gee vir die toekoms van waterbestuur in Suid-Afrika.

Ten slotte wil ek uit ‘n liedjie uit my kinderdae aanhaal: ``Kinders moenie in die water mors nie want die oumense wil dit drink.’’

Die Nuwe NP ondersteun hierdie begrotingspos sonder voorbehoud.

Daar’s water! [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[I want to dwell on one of the key focus areas, namely the search for and development of dependable and sustainable sources of water for household and other water-dependent economic activities.

We are aware of the water emergency that is currently being experienced in the Western Cape because of the unselfish action of the DA-controlled government which allows all its rain-heavy clouds to be blown away to other ANC-dominated provinces, like a mother who ensures that her children drink first before she quenches her own thirst.

Therefore, it is heartening to learn that the department, in co-operation with the water research commission, is investigating the possible use of underground fresh water from the so-called Peninsula aquifer of the Table Mountain group, deep under the Western Cape.

That part of the Table Mountain group surrounding Cape Town has the potential to provide the Greater Cape Town consumer area with underground water which, with standard treatment, will be suitable for human consumption.

Although, according to the hon the Minister, there is still no clarity about the actual available quantities, there is apparently some speculation about a quantity of approximately 100 million m3 per annum.

It is, inter alia, initiatives such as this and others, for example the possibility of scattering crystals over rain clouds in order to increase rainfall, that excite one and give one hope for the future of water management in South Africa. Finally, I would like to quote from a song from my childhood:

``Kinders moenie in die water mors nie want die oumense wil dit drink.’’ [Children shouldn’t play in the water because the elderly want to drink it.]

The New NP supports this Vote without reservation.

Daar’s water! [Good show!] [Applause.]]

Rev M CHABAKU: Chairperson, hon Minister, administrators, the MECs, special delegates and hon members of this House, it is interesting and fascinating to hear many members, of both the opposition and the ruling party, having similar sentiments about the same issue.

This Budget Vote is of vital importance, because it is about Water Affairs and Forestry. But what is most essential is water, as it is the source of all life. Even forestry depends on water, for where there is water, there is life, where there is life, there is recreation and where there is recreation, there is continuity. The cycle goes on and on, from the tiniest ant to the biggest oak. Water is very precious in the Free State. It is valued, and in many houses water which is used for washing in is used again to scrub the benches. The same water is used again to scrub the floors, and finally it is sprinkled to keep off the dust from the untarred roads. Compare this to those who have bathtubs, or spray their cars when they clean them, or who even have swimming pools.

This precious liquid is so essential in all rituals of life that a baby grows in the mother’s body in water, and the water first bursts to trumpet the birth and arrival of the newborn. Even after birth, water is used to initiate the child into this world. We all need to drink it daily for survival. Even at the end of life, corpses are washed with water before they are returned to the earth for their burial. [Interjections.]

It makes our hearts bleed to see how water is easily available to commercial farmers in strong, big gushes on their very big farms, while some farm-workers struggle to have water available in their own shanties for their own daily lives. Much water is needed to be reticulated in residential areas where the local councils have the means for establishing a sewerage system. We honestly want to thank the Minister for the continued support that we receive from his office, regarding both human consumption and commercial and industrial consumption of water, including in the mines. Extensive research on subterranean rivers has shown that uncontaminated water sources which feed the windmills and waterpits are dotted around our farms. Since water is to be rationed, and the minimum is given free, this gesture will enable even the poorest of the poor amongst us to have some water for everyday life.

We would like to see homes encouraged to collect rainwater in water tanks so that they can use this rather than open water taps for their gardens. This water can be utilised in many areas in the home. We would like the Minister to assist us by providing opportunities for inventors to find innovative ways in which we can have baths, but can still use water in a cost-effective manner. Sometimes when people need hot water, they let the tap run with the cold water until the water becomes hot, but if we could have a valve that would just tie in easily, so that when one wants hot water one gets just the water that one needs, we would save water. Otherwise, one should have a container underneath when one opens the tap to get one’s hot water, because later on one is going to need that water again.

Water is precious, so we need to use it wisely. We would like the department to help us push volunteerism as we seek to make water accessible to the least among us. It is really a bonus that the enthusiasm of the past two Ministers of Water Affairs and Forestry has been such a pleasure to behold.

We commend the Minister for being approachable when our provincial needs are expressed. In areas like Wepener, which is rocky, and arid areas like Botshabelo, great struggles are expressed in that water flows slowly with very little pressure. This makes collecting it very tedious. The Free State has undertaken to encourage the creation and use of small vegetable gardens to alleviate the hunger that is rife there because of the high unemployment rate with no facility nearby to learn skills of self-employment. Fresh water ponds have been started and stocked with freshwater fish like tapihe.

Small farming will drain off the little fresh water that is available. It was really cruel to see how the neediest people, like those in Botshabelo and ThabaNchu, suffer so badly with very little water for their means of survival. Yet they have to drink water, wash themselves for their everyday living and also flush toilets. This is a problem, because there is not sufficient water. How can they pay for the excess water that they use for their bare necessities when they are unemployed?

We need to plant trees for more oxygen, fresh air and greenery, and for the birds to come back. We pray for the Minister’s department to help with other policies, projects and programmes. We wish him well. He has our vote on this Budget Vote. [Applause.]

Mr R M NYAKANE: Mr Chairman, an in-depth discussion of this particular Vote took place during the briefing of the select committee by the director- general and his entourage. One has deduced from those lengthy deliberations that the department has positioned itself on the right track to address the imbalances of the past.

The data tells us that over 80% of all illness in the developing countries is directly or indirectly associated with a poor water supply and sanitation. South Africa is not an exception to this observation. The argument goes on to say that good sanitation and safe drinking water can reduce infant mortality by 50% in most African countries.

We do not need water for drinking purposes only. Scarcity of water leads to illness and the spread of infections which affect eyes, like trachoma, skin ailments and gastro-intestinal disorders. Cholera is a typical disease of poverty.

Given this argument, may I depict the vulnerable position the Northern Province finds itself in? In the Northern Province 70% of households live in poverty while 3,6 million of the people in the Northern Province are poor individuals and 69% of individuals are living in poverty. This information has been derived from the 1995 Poverty Profile of the Human Sciences Research Council.

The incorporation of the neighbouring rural settlements into the urban municipal cities is an accepted dispensation in terms of the aims and the objectives of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act. However, problems do arise. Tariffs for the services rendered by the municipality are beyond the means and reach of the poor who reside in this rural setting.

The increase of the water service charge by 20% in the Durban unicity to defray the R100 million debt, which directly impacted upon the Mpumalanga rural settlements is a case in point. One other observation is the pollution of underground surface water by the mining dumps, which causes very great concern.

The case of the pollution of rivers, such as the Selati and the Olifants rivers in Phalaborwa, has, because of those mines there, revealed incidents of gastro-intestinal disorders in those areas. Newspapers have tried to reveal this particular observation.

The hon the Minister has touched on a very sensitive issue, which is sanitation. It is a complex and controversial matter, given the fact that cultural habits and practices are involved. To demonstrate this, may I share this experience with hon members. Typhoid outbreak in the rural settlements of Maune, Makhushane and Mashishimale in the Northern Province was followed by a health education programme. Health officials organised a meeting with these communities and lectured them on the steps that could be taken to prevent the typhoid endemic. The message centred around the building of pit latrines, the boiling of water before use and so on. After a lengthy lecture, the communities were given time to ask questions. One elderly man stood up and asked this question. When he asked the question he never faced the health officials, instead he faced his own people.

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! Order! I am afraid that your time has expired, hon member. [Interjections.] If hon members wish to remove me from the Chair, they have that constitutional right. But, for the moment, I am in the Chair. [Laughter.]

Chief M L MOKOENA: Chairperson, during last year’s debate on this Budget Vote, I, on behalf of the Northern Province, pointed out some water-related challenges and problems which needed the attention of the Minister and his department. We also made some suggestions and recommendations to the department. I unashamedly did that, knowing very well that I was talking to someone who always listens.

It is with pride that I note that the department responded swiftly to our concerns. How nice it is! It is pleasing, too, to know that if it is in the best interests of the community, the department does not hesitate to take decisive and even corrective measures. It is a fact, therefore, that deciding today is less risky than waiting till all the risks are removed.

We raised water-related problems that affect areas, for example, from regions one to seven in our province. Yes, I agree that not all of our concerns were attended to, but we are happy to see that something is being done. Well done, hon Minister.

Members will remember that our province was hit hard by floods last year. The damage to our projects added to the current backlog in the figure of 4,3 million people who were supposed to get water. But, before the end of this financial year, 2001-02, the backlog will be reduced to 2,5 million people.

The floods seriously affected about 60% of our projects. How wonderful it is to learn that the department in the province has already spend about R75 million to correct the situation! We are happy to know that the department in the province is currently busy running workshops to capacitate district municipalities about their role in water service authorities.

We can only urge the national department to assist provinces in this regard. For provinces to succeed, they need a serious hand up from the national department.

There are communities that rely solely on boreholes in order to get water. In these boreholes diesel engines are mostly used to pump water.

Fortunately, some of these engines are now electrified. The only problem is that those that are electrified are automatic pumps that are regulated. These engines run from 08:00 to 16:00. The majority of working people in these areas normally report for work not later than 08:00 and knock off not earlier than 17:00.

This arrangement simply means that this group of people is already at a disadvantage. It is obvious that they cannot report late for work and, at the same time, they cannot leave their work-place earlier than 17:00. It is again clear that by the time they arrive home from work, the water pipes are dry.

I would like to ask the hon the Minister how we can accommodate this unfortunate group. Knowing the hon the Minister as we all do, I am sure his response will make people in these affected areas, in the Northern Province in particular, smile from ear to ear. Members have just to listen, they will hear him.

I would also like to ask the Minister: How far are we with the renaming of some of our dams in this country? Now is the time to rename them. Hon members know, surprisingly, even those people who named those dams then are so irritated and ashamed to call those dams by those names. Hence it is important for us to rename them.

Let us have names that all South Africans will be proud of. We cannot postpone this matter any further, hence I am saying that now it is the time to rename them.

There are some dams that are privately owned. Water from those privately owned dams is used just to water trees, gardens and for animal use, whereas a stone’s throw from these dams are villages with not a single water tap.

People who clean or look after those dams cannot even benefit from them. Can the hon the Minister and his department negotiate with the owners of these dams to allow these people within those vicinities to get water from those dams? I was reliably informed that the majority of those owners of privately owned dams are Christians. Therefore I cannot imagine them denying their brothers and sisters that opportunity of getting water from those dams while they are overflowing. In the whole of my life, I have never seen an unsympathetic Christian. I believe some amicable solution can be found or struck.

The ANC-led Government is busy and is going to give people water for free. What a pity, some prophet of doom thought this could not be realised. We regard them as people who are not afraid to adjust their private load in public.

It is happening, and it is still going to happen. The communities that are still on the waiting list should just hang in there, because the people’s Government will be in their area very soon. Having supported this Budget Vote, I believe quite firmly that now is the time for me to sit down. [Applause.]

Mev A M VERSFELD: Mevrou die Voorsitter, dit word algemeen aanvaar dat een van die grootste probleme wat die wêreld, en nie net Suid-Afrika nie, in die 21ste eeu in die gesig staar ‘n watertekort is. Suid-Afrika is reeds ‘n waterskaars land, en volgens voorspellings kan ons dalk binne twee dekades ‘n waterarm land wees. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[Mrs A M VERSFELD: Madam Chairperson, it is commonly accepted that one of the greatest problems facing the world, and not only South Africa, in the 21st century is that of a shortage of water. South Africa is already a water-scarce country, and according to predictions we could possibly become a water-poor country within two decades.]

In the face of the emerging water crisis, success or failure depends upon the people.

Die meeste riviere in die Weskus en die Swartland is sout. Tagtig persent van die sout in die Bergrivier is afkomstig uit die Misverstand-, Krom-, Assegaai- en Bosmanskloofriviere, en dit terwyl hierdie riviere net 5% van die water in die Bergrivier voorsien. Dit is dan ook die rede waarom die destydse departement van waterwese in 1974 nie voortgegaan het met die beplande enorme dam by die huidige Misverstandkeerwal nie, anders sou hierdie dam in ‘n soutpan verander het.

Onttrekkingswater uit die Bo-Bergrivier is alles hoëkwaliteitwater uit die tafelbergsandsteen met ‘n soutinhoud van minder as 50 eenhede per miljoen - dit is nou opgeloste sout. Die bou van die Skuifraamdam - ek weet die Minister hou nie van die naam Skuifraamdam'' nie, en ek wens ons kan iets anders ook aan hierdie dam doen - neem 'n massiewe klomp vars water uit die Bergriviersisteem. Die bou van hierdie dam, glo ek, is totaal metropool georiënteerd. Ek sou dink aan ander alternatiewe vir Kaapstad, byvoorbeeld meer water in die Theewaterskloofdam en 'n hoër keerwal by die Misverstanddam, wat dan as 'n tipesacrificial’’ dam gebruik kan word. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[Most rivers on the West Coast and in the Swartland are salty. Eighty percent of the salt in the Berg River comes from the Misverstand, Krom, Assegaai and Bosmanskloof rivers, and that whilst these rivers provide only 5% of the water in the Berg River. This is also the reason why, in 1974, the then department of water affairs did not proceed with the planned enormous dam at the current Misverstand weir, otherwise this dam would have become a saltpan.

Water withdrawn from the Upper Berg River is all high-quality water from the Table Mountain sandstone with a salt content of less than 50 units per million - this is dissolved salt. The building of the Skuifraam Dam - I know the Minister does not like the name ``Skuifraam Dam’’, and I wish we could also do something else with this dam - is taking a massive quantity of fresh water from the Berg River system. The building of this dam, I believe, is totally metropolitan-orientated. I would think of other alternatives for Cape Town such as, for example, more water in the Theewaterskloof Dam and a higher weir at the Misverstand Dam, which could then be used as a type of sacrificial dam.]

In the three reality checks of the World Commission on Dams newsletter of 9 March 2001, they referred to the Berg River. The Berg is not a shared river, has no productive fisheries and involves no displacement of people, for example, but the withdrawal of a proposed 126 million cubic metres of Table Mountain sandstone head water at the proposed Skuifraam Dam could have serious implications for water quality in the lower Berg River, on which the people of the West Coast are dependent for their water supply.

This should also be seen in the context of the potential withdrawal of 50 million m3 into Voëlvlei via the Kleinberg River and another 120 million m 3 via Vier-en-twintig Riviere into the Voëlvlei and the 64 million m3 into the Wemmershoek Dam. The West Coast will be left with water from far more saline tributaries draining mainly in Malmesbury shale soils.

Before 1953, the weighted average winter salinity of the Berg River was about 130 parts per million, ppm. By 1975, this had increased to 270 parts per million. If the abovementioned amount of water from the Skuifraam Dam, at a salinity of 50 ppm, is withdrawn, this will leave 180 times 10m3 of residual water at a salinity of approximately 420 ppm.

This is, of course a worst-case scenario, but it is nevertheless a cause for concern.

Amanzi ayimpilo. [Kwahlekwa.] [Water is life. [Laughter.]]

Dit bring my by die onttrekking van water uit die Bergrivier. Ek het in die vorige debat ook gepraat oor die onttrekking van water uit die Bergrivier, en dit is nog steeds vir my ‘n groot kommer, want die situasie lyk ál swakker. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraph follows.)

[This brings me to the withdrawal of water from the Berg River. In the previous debate I also spoke about the withdrawal of water from the Berg River, and this is still of great concern to me, because the situation is looking increasingly worse.]

The permit was granted on the basis of there being two completely separate water bodies and a height of recharge from local rainfall much higher than the rate of withdrawal. Is this indeed, a fact? I can tell the House why I doubt it. The rate of recharge is totally unknown at this stage, as the postulation of 8% of the rainfall to recharge is highly questionable. I will also give this House the reasons for this. If one looks at the age of the water, it would be difficult to grasp how water aged 200 million to 300 million years can be sourced by local rainfall.

The low rainfall over the surrounding area, combined with the high rate of evaporation, poses another problem. Such recharge can only be via rivulets and rivers. A rainfall event of 30mm per day onto sandy soil with a 30% void will serve to fill these voids to a depth of 100 mm. The third factor is the low salinity of the water found at the depth of the aquifer. The surface water, or near surface water, as found in the rivulets and rivers draining the supposedly recharge area, as well as the shallow wells, is generally of a much higher salinity than that found at depth. Even the name of the main local river bears this out: the Sout River. Such isaline water cannot source a low salinity aquifer.

As for the area north of the well, it is to be doubted whether there is, indeed any clay layer and whether the so-called upper and lower aquifers are not in actual fact the very same water body. The baseline water stance in boreholes and well points in this area when converted to the heights above sea level, seems to indicate that this is, indeed, the same water body.

Ons wag baie angstig op ‘n verslag van dr Stadler, wat ek gehoop het al bekend sal wees. [Tyd verstreke.] [We are most anxiously awaiting a report from Dr Stadler, which I had hoped would have been made public by this time. [Time expired.]]

Mr G E NKWINTI (Eastern Cape): Chairperson, hon Minister and my colleagues in the House, I will, in support of the budget speech of the hon the Minister, concentrate on rural areas in terms of the supply of water.

The redirection of the consolidated municipality infrastructure programme in our province has enabled it to provide water and sanitation to rural areas. It also targets the areas in the four Integrated and Sustainable Rural Development Strategy nodes. Our province is currently finalising its priorities for the current financial year, and approximately 50% of the R216 million budget will be spent in these areas.

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry will use the multiannual action plan to implement its programme, while the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme has made a significant contribution to this initiative. Numerous projects previously implemented by the department are supplemented or have been completely taken over by the CMIP in the province.

There is a good working relationship between the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry and us. With regard to floods and natural disasters, a disaster management section exists within our province’s department of housing, local government and traditional affairs to assist municipalities with disaster planning and management. We can assist with disaster management where floods and other natural disasters occur, including anticholera strategies.

Co-ordination has been an integral part of an ongoing interaction between our province’s department of housing, local government and traditional affairs, Salga in the Eastern Cape, the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, and municipalities, with a view to ensuring the effective and efficient implementation of water provision within our province. This aspect of service delivery is furthermore closely linked to the current process of devolution of powers and functions to the local level of Government.

Extensive discussions have already taken place or have been held with municipalities within the province on, inter alia, matters pertaining to the provision of free water services with a view to determining the state of readiness of these municipalities for implementing the national policy with effect from 1 July 2001.

A strategic partnership has therefore been entered into with Salga in the Eastern Cape in which the following broad agreements were reached. The province will perform an overall monitoring role in respect of the process, and it will further support and mentor municipalities as per constitutional requirements. The process is closely linked to the ongoing devolution of powers and functions to the local level.

Information dissemination is critical and needs to be undertaken as a matter of urgency. We are pleased to say here that because of the good relationship between us as a department and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, information has been flowing very smoothly between us and through to the municipalities. Municipalities are currently in the process of determining their own state of readiness to implement the national policy guidelines, and a joint provincial proposal will be developed soon.

An audit of levels of services in the entire province is to be conducted during the month of June by a joint team of the department and Salga, Eastern Cape, so as to inform provincial implementation strategy. The audit results will be workshopped with all municipalities during July, with a view to testing the accuracy of the data collected. It should be mentioned that a lot of information is already available from the Municipal Infrastructure Assessment Programme.

It has been agreed that there would have to be a means test because there are people who have already gone to municipalities to demand free water for all, irrespective of the capacity or ability of people to pay.

We have agreed that the RDP means test, as per the Consolidated Municipal Infrastructure Programme and housing provisioning, is to be used in actual implementation of the national policy.

Regarding the transfer of water schemes from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry to municipalities, it was acknowledged that some schemes are nonoperational and, therefore, transferring them would be tantamount to transferring a liability. We appreciate the fact that the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry was the first to identify this problem and offered to repair this infrastructure before it was transferred. Some municipalities do not have the necessary capacity to take over the management responsibility as of now. Agreement was therefore reached that a phased approach would be used, and that those municipalities with the necessary capacity to administer the operational schemes would be targeted immediately.

The department of housing, local government and traditional affairs, and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry are co-operating on a provincial basis, and the department has made a contribution to the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s Multiannual Action Plan programme. The following amounts will be allocated to the MAAP projects from the CMIP programme; R50 million for the financial year 2001-02, R55 million for the 2002-03 financial year and R60 million for the 2003-04 financial year.

With regard to representation on water boards - this has sparked off an interesting and exciting debate in the province. There are a number of views, but in the main two views are coming out. There is a view that holds that where no capacity exists within municipalities, water boards, at least in the short term, are the way to go. In such a scenario, water boards would serve as learning institutions for municipalities with lack of expertise and management capacity.

The second view is that where municipalities have the necessary capacity they should provide water directly. The perception is that it is relatively cheaper for municipalities to perform this task themselves.

Whether this is in fact the case, I think the Minister could at some point address this. I would not expect it to be done now.

Ek sien Span Water daar agter die Minister. [I see Team Water there behind the Minister.]

They are listening to what we are saying, and I know we will discuss this matter in the usual way.

The department of housing, local government and traditional affairs is currently engaged in building the capacity of municipalities with limited technical capacity, through the Municipal Mentoring Programme. The focus of this training initiative is to ensure proper maintenance and operation of infrastructure.

With regard to possible approaches in the delivery of free basic water, as proposed by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, we are taking cognisance of the rural nature of the province of the Eastern Cape, and thus the need to deliver services to remote areas with limited or no existing infrastructure at all, owing to historical backlogs.

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry’s proposed approaches to the delivery of services have been evaluated by us, and I wish to make the following points. The prepaid water metering system seems preferable in rural villages where credits per household could be accessed on a monthly basis. This could be part of either the block tariff or credit subsidy systems. This system will be managed individually by recipient households and therefore limit administration, as well as the costs of servicing the system by the municipality.

The block tariff system, according to which six kilolitres of water are allocated per household, via communal standpipes, is the next preferred system, taking cognisance of the levels of service available in the various areas. Regarding the implementation of this system, a central management system needs to be implemented through a locally based administration component, for example, water committees.

Controlled volumes to users could be implemented, being mindful of additional costs to be incurred when installing the necessary infrastructure. It should be emphasised that beneficiary choice, as well as practical implementation, should at all times inform the choice of approach.

Finally, the credit system with monthly billing seems the most expensive system to implement. Additional capacity is required at municipal level to implement the system, and the meter reading aspect has proved to be especially costly. In other words, there are no benefits from capital inputs as services are largely subsidised - that is a view - and draining the capacity of the municipality. [Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! I think I must not allow members to forget that when there is a speaker on the floor, they should not obscure the Chairperson’s view of the person speaking. There is a rule in that regard, and I ask members of the House to observe that rule.

Mr K D S DURR: Chairperson, I wish to raise two aspects of the Minister’s speech, and I will say, at once, that the Minister is running a good department very well, and we respect that.

Concerning the aspect of ground water, there is ground water now being pumped from an aquifer at Langebaan Road in the airport area, for use in what I think is called the Vredenburg Bow, which is a new thing, inter alia, to provide water for the Saldanha steelworks and the growing town area.

I understand that it was originally thought that this aquifer did not connect with the aquifers to the south. However, alarm bells are beginning to ring in the area as surrounding surface water levels and the water table appear to be dropping.

I would like to ask the Minister whether he is satisfied that the aquifers to the south of Langebaan Road are not linked to the Langfontein aquifer. Does he have evidence to support this? If there is any doubt, can I ask the Minister, perhaps, just to ask his department to have a look at this?

This is one of the smallest remnants and most threatened highly biodiverse areas in the Western Cape. It is an ecological and botanical hot spot, and contains many threatened species. We are concerned that the fall in the surface water and the ground water levels could impact upon this tiny remnant that is left of this important biome. The levels of ground water are critical, as they feed perennial springs that support wildlife and various botanical species. Overutilisation is something that we are very careful of.

I want to congratulate the Minister on the biological control of the alien Australian acacias that have smashed large areas of fynbos. I think that is very important. I must say it felt like a breath of fresh air, when I heard what the Minister was doing, and it is historically important. He has done more than anybody else I have ever known in this field, and it is absolutely vital for us in the Western Cape, and we are grateful to him.

The problem is that even after the trees have been killed by the introduced wasps, as is the case with the golden wattle, acacia longifolia, or fungus in the case of Port Jackson willow, one has a huge biomass of highly combustible dry wood, which is a massive fire hazard that remains. And when it does burn, one gets not a cold burn, but a hot burn, which damages the remaining indigenous seedbed. Worse still, as the Minister knows, it stimulates new growth of acacia seeds. One has a new crop that comes up like a lawn, and the cycle is then repeated.

Is there a solution to this? Is there something we can do about this? Outside of the National Parks and conservation areas, which are all essential, public and private landowners will have to do what they can. However, the job is vast, and I would suggest that the first thing we need to do is to try and clear the areas which are not heavily infested so that it does not take root.

To that extent I think the Minister could consider mobilising the landowners themselves by means of cash grants. It is no good to offer tax deductions when people do not have a taxable income. Giving cash grants in identified areas of alien vegetation which are particularly highly infested, sensitive areas, where the department can monitor whether the person actually has done what he set out to do, might be the cost-effective way of doing some of this clearing, which is absolutely vital.

This would be particularly appropriate in the lightly infested areas. Then we drive back upon the heavily infested areas, which have a different management problem. I do not know the answer to that, I have to say.

We support the allocation of this Budget Vote. We think that the money is extremely well spent in the long-term interests of our nation as a whole, so we support the allocation.

Perhaps, as I have a little time, I may say something to the hon the Minister about desalination. It seems to me that it is something that, somewhere in the future, we should be applying research to as a possible solution to some of the water problems, particularly in the most remote areas of our country. [Applause.]

Mr H L COMBRINK (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, ladies and gentlemen, it is our responsibility to do everything humanly possible to ensure that adequate water and sanitation services are brought to, and within reasonable distance from, each household.

The Government has promised that every citizen shall have access to good and clean drinking water and sanitation. This means that instead of toiling up and down hills with buckets of water on the heads, women and children must have easy access to clean and unpolluted drinking water close to home. It means that our children must go to school and learn, rather than walking miles to fetch water. It means that our people must be healthy and well. They must not be forced to drink polluted water, which causes all kinds of diseases.

We are privileged to be living in a country with a high regard for human rights less. We are, indeed, privilege to have a Constitution that guarantees the human rights of all South Africans. One of the rights guaranteed in our Bill of Rights is access to clean and sufficient water. Those people who walk miles every day to fetch water really understand how important this right is. Those families who have suffered from cholera understand how important this right is.

I think that we stand at a very exciting moment in the history of water management in South Africa. The challenges that face us, as Government, are enormous. We must harness all our creativity and energy to ensure sustainable water use now and in future. What I find exciting at the moment is that I can see creativity being harnessed. I see a number of people and organisations coming up with innovative and inventive approaches to the problem that we face. I see Government officials, consultants, NGO staff and ordinary citizens excited by what the budget on Water Affairs and Forestry has to offer.

At the same time the collapse of apartheid has allowed us back into the international arena, and we are able to learn from international experience, best practice and thinking, and adapt them to our own needs, in South and Southern Africa, without reinventing the wheel.

It is also exciting that the international arena is not only the developed world but the developing world as well. It is encouraging to note that we are continually improving our links with our neighbouring states in the field of water conservation and demand management. We are able to share our experience with them and also learn a considerable amount from their experience.

We share a number of problems with our neighbouring states. Availability of good-quality water is one of them. Provision of good quality water to citizens for basic human needs and for economic development is another. A further problem that we share with the neighbouring states is high levels of poverty and unemployment, especially in rural areas. It is a pity that provinces do not have the power and competency to deal closely with the national Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. We, as members of the provincial parliament, deal with these issues from afar, but they touch our very existence every day of our lives and those of the people whom we serve at grass-roots level.

I know that this department will spend millions of rands in the coming years in the province of KwaZulu-Natal on sanitation and provision of clean water after the outbreak of cholera last year, and we thank them for that.

A matter that I must, again, bring to the attention of the Minister and the department is that of the Paris Dam in the Pongola area. The Impala Irrigation Committee, with the farmers in that area, have tackled a massive task. They did not only build a dam for their own use to store water during the dry seasons, but will also be providing water to 250 000 people in the Simlangentsha area. They have lifted the moratorium on the planting of 30 000 hectares of forestry in the catchment area and will be settling nearly 700 ha of new upcoming small cane growers under irrigation.

Unfortunately that comes with a big price tag, and the farmers are battling to repay their loans to the bankers. Under my intitiative and help delegations were put together and talks were held with the department and the Land Bank. I would like to tell the hon the Minister that we need his help urgently to move in and rescue this beautiful concept that has become a reality of total financial ruin. We need to do that as a matter of urgency in the next week.

We need the assistance of the Government again, to back this project financially until this initiative, in a matter of three years, is viable again and a larger sugar crop can be put through the mill to pay back all loans. I take this opportunity to invite the hon the Minister to this area so that he can come on a first-hand basis to see for himself what I am talking about.

Another matter that I would like to touch on is that of alien vegetation in our country. Millions from the department are spent on cleaning catchment areas and providing jobs to more than 20 000 jobless people. The worrying factor is that, yearly, a large number of farmers in this country spend millions of rands on cleaning their farms and property of alien vegetation like lantana, wattle, guavas, etc. only to find that one’s neighbour does nothing to prevent it from spreading over the countryside. I therefore plead with the department to bring in measures in the form of legislation or regulations to avoid this serious situation. We, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, support the Minister on Budget Vote No 33. [Applause.]

Mr P NGCOBO (KwaZulu-Natal): Chairperson and Minister Khumalo, KwaZulu- Natal is delighted to have this opportunity of discussing Budget Vote No 33 of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry. We are lucky that the European Union has prioritised KwaZulu-Natal, because the DA knows what it did to us.

Water is life and a scarce resource, and therefore its accessibility is essential in ensuring sustainable social, economic and environmental benefits for all. For those who were previously disadvantaged, access to clean and safe water and sanitation services is essential for a healthy population and the growing economy.

In the area I come from, we started to have water in 1994. All along my mother used to fetch water from the Umsunduzi River, which was not even guaranteed to be safe for drinking. Therefore I know how difficult it is to have no access to clean water. Our thanks go to the ANC Government.

Having said that, the question of local government’s role in the provision of free water, the 6 000 litres per household and extended families, needs national Government’s intervention.

In the Durban-Pietermaritzburg area there is a serious dispute about who should provide free water to the rural areas, because the rural reticulation schemes are not making good returns for local governments. There is a new term which is normally used in this argument, namely that the scheme must make ``business sense’’ and that it must be a legal scheme. The other area that needs attention is the question of the provision of the infrastructure in these areas and who should own it.

I would like to tell the hon the Minister that any mandate that comes without financial backing from central Government, which has committed itself to ensuring free basic water services, would fail us. Therefore, we would welcome the decision of the Cabinet about the implementation of this programme. The other area that needs careful consideration is the question of the institutional framework, which will include the role of the water boards and the empowered local government structures that we have in place. We are mindful of the fact that the vultures, like the Vivendis and the Thameses of this world, are beginning to set up offices in South Africa in anticipation of water being privatised soon. We know the terms that have been used in this regard, but none of them will ever touch areas like Msinga, Ixopo and Ulundi. The only areas they want will be areas like Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Richard’s Bay, Port Shepstone and Newcastle. A clear policy in this regard is very critical, because in KwaDukuza there is a serious conflict between the community and the company that has been awarded the contract to provide water. This matter needs the urgent attention of central Government. I am happy about the announcement made by the Minister that he will be attending to this matter soon.

We must ensure that the conditional grant to local government goes towards the function, otherwise local government will use it to pay the cost of their running overheads.

Very often private consultancies are enlisted by this department. One will find that the bulk of the money that is supposed to go towards the projects that will benefit the community is taken by the consultancy when it does its feasibility studies, etc. A typical example would be the Endaleni project. The department spent more than R50 million on the Vulindlela scheme, and the union has been calling for the investigation of this scheme for a long time.

At the same time, we should look at these Rolls-Royce schemes that we are rolling out because some will cost about R12 000 to R18 000 per installation, whilst others will cost R4 000, as we can see in today’s newspaper.

In conclusion, I want to commend the department for its active role during the cholera outbreak and for working tirelessly with the Department of Health. We observe Mntungwa’s intervention, and we salute him and his officials for making R100 million available to our province in the next three years.

Lastly, bottled water is a growing market in South Africa. The industry needs to be properly monitored because in most cases people are being taken for a ride.

We support the budget. [Applause.]

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! Hon members, I would like to interrupt the proceedings briefly. We shall have an interruption for five minutes, if members could remain in the Chamber while I adjourn the House.

Business suspended at 16:01 and resumed at 16:05

Ms A ROSSOUW (Western Cape): Hon Madam Chair, hon Minister Kasrils and members, it is a great privilege to participate in this debate today. The slogan for this year, as we have often heard today, is ``Water is life. Amanzi ayimpilo’’. Without water there is no life. Without sufficient clean water there is no life. Water is indispensable to survival, and there can be no growth, livelihood or economic development in its absence.

‘n Vooraanstaande Pretoriase fisiologiese chemikus, prof B J Meyer, het reeds in 1970 tydens die waterjaar opgemerk dat water só ‘n oorheersende rol in die hele menswees speel dat dit ook as vanselfsprekend aanvaar word soos die hart wat sowat 36 miljoen keer per jaar klop. Hy het gesê: ``Water is die spil waarom alle lewe draai, nie slegs is dit onontbeerlik vir die groei van alle plante nie, maar dit is ook die grootste enkele grondstof waaruit plante, diere en ons hele liggaam bestaan. Tog is dit so dat nog ons doen en late, ons absolute afhanklikheid van dié wondervloeistof weerspieël.’’

Suid-Afrika is ‘n land arm aan waterbronne. Ons het nie groot riviere nie en ons gaan dikwels gebuk onder groot droogtes, maar ten spyte daarvan was dit vir die deursnee-Suid-Afrikaner nog altyd moontlik om hul krane oop te draai. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[A leading Pretoria physiological chemist, Prof B J Meyer, already remarked during the water year in 1970 that water plays such a dominant role humanity as a whole that it is also accepted as being as obvious as the heart which beats approximately 36 million times a year. He said: ``Water is the pivot on which all life hinges, not only is it indispensable for the growth of all plants, but it is also the biggest single element from which plants, animals and our entire body exist. Yet our behaviour does not reflect our absolute dependence on this miraculous liquid.’’

South Africa is a country poor in water resources. We do not have big rivers and we often suffer from big droughts, but despite this it has always been possible for the average South African to open their taps.]

The effective and sustainable management of our water resources is a crucial underpinning, not only for our existing economic development, but for future programmes on poverty eradication and the ensuring of economic growth. The provision of water to meet basic human needs remains one of the biggest challenges faced by the Government of the day. There is an enormous challenge to speed up the delivery of safe water to people.

Dit is vir my heerlik om aan te haal uit Business Day van 31 Mei 2001:

… the DA in Cape Town moved impressively fast to be the first local authority, after last December’s poll, to be ready to implement the election promise made nationally by it and the ANC to provide free to consumers the first 20KW of electricity and six kilolitres of water used each month.

So ons is trots daarop dat ons in die Wes-Kaap die DA het. [Tussenwerpsels.] Ek glo ons rade in die Wes-Kaap gaan daarop volg wanneer hul begrotings aangekondig word.

Die Departement van Waterwese en Bosbou is die voog van ons waterbronne in Suid-Afrika. Ek wil vir die Minister gelukwens vir die wyse waarop hy die uiterste doen om ons waterbronne te beskerm.

Die Wes-Kaap gaan gebuk onder groot watertekorte, nie slegs in die Unistad nie, maar ook in ons landelike gebiede waar dit ernstige implikasies vir veral die landboubedryf inhou, veral vir die sagte vrugte - en graanbedryf waar damme leeg is en boorgate eenvoudig net nie genoeg water voorsien nie. Die Suid-Kaap gaan gebuk onder een van die ergste droogtes, en dit is reeds die afgelope ses jaar wat ons bitter swak reënval het. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[It is a pleasure for me to quote from Business Day of 31 May 2001:

… the DA in Cape Town moved impressively fast to be the first local authority, after last December’s poll, to be ready to implement the election promise made nationally by it and the ANC to provide free to consumers the first 20KW of electricity and six kilolitres of water used each month.

So we are proud of the fact that we in the Western Cape have the DA. [Interjections.] I believe our councils in the Western Cape are going to follow suit when their budgets are announced.

The Department of Water Affairs and Forestry is the guardian of our water resources in South Africa. I want to congratulate the Minister for the manner in which he is doing his utmost to protect our water resources.

The Western Cape is suffering from great water shortages, not only in the Unicity, but also in our rural areas where this has serious implications for the agricultural industry in particular, particularly for the deciduous fruit and wheat industry, where dams are empty and boreholes simply do not provide enough water. The Southern Cape is suffering one of the worst droughts, and we have had a very poor rainfall for the past 6 years already.]

Whether it is global warming, population growth, wastage, or just a run of unseasonably hot dry summers with below average rainfall, the fact remains that the Cape is short of water. The current water levels of the major dams are lower than in previous years.

Teen November 2000 reeds was die damme die laagste wat dit vir dieselfde periode was sedert 1995, en sedertdien was daar geen noemenswaardige reënval in ons opvanggebiede nie. Dit wil voorkom asof die weerpatroon in Suid-Afrika besig is om te verander, ook hier in ons winterreënvalgebiede.

Alle watergebruikers sal opgevoed moet word en bewus moet wees van hoe skaars die bron werklik is. Deur net die kraan toe te draai terwyl mens tande borsel of skeer, kan 20 tot 45 liter water gespaar word.

‘n Vyfminute-stort gebruik slegs 60 liter water teenoor 160 liter vir ‘n bad. Hoe sensitief is ons oor lekkende krane in ons huise en openbare plekke? ‘n Kraan wat een druppel per sekonde lek, kan tot 30 liter water per uur vermors, wat neerkom op 10 000 liter water per jaar.

Die ongerief van die huidige waterbeperkings, wat volgens die Unistad op vlak 1 is, het elke gebruiker meer sensitief gemaak vir waterbesparing. (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[By November 2000 the dams were already at the lowest level they have been for the same period since 1995, and there has been no noteworthy rainfall in our catchment areas since then. It appears as if the weather pattern in South Africa is changing, also here in our winter rainfall areas. All water consumers will have to be educated and have to be aware of how scarce the resource really is. By simply closing the tap while people brush their teeth or shave, 20 to 45 litres of water can be saved.

A five-minute shower uses only 60 litres of water, as opposed to 160 litres for a bath. How sensitive are we about leaking taps in our homes and public areas? A tap which leaks one drop per second can waste up to 30 litres of water per hour, which amounts to 10 000 litres of water per year. The inconvenience of the current water restrictions, which are at level 1 according to the Unicity, has made every consumer more sensitive to water conservation.]

None of the restrictions imposed are too demanding. They require only a small adjustment in behaviour and attitude. Conserving supplies will only be successful if people regulate their own use of water.

As mense steeds dink hul poging is slegs ‘n druppel in die grote oseaan, moet hulle onthou as almal ‘n bietjie spaar, spaar ons almal saam baie. Die huidige toepassing van die besparingsmaatreëls het bygedra tot ‘n 10% besparing van die watervoorraad van die Unistad.

Kaapstad is een van die stede in suidelike Afrika met die laagste waterverbruik per capita. Ek besef dit is ‘n baie sensitiewe aangeleentheid wat ook só bestuur sal moet word, maar as gevolg van die stygende behoeftes in waterverbruik, sal die bou van die Skuifraamdam nie langer uitgestel kan word nie.

Indien die dam teen 2006 voltooi is en die reënval bly onveranderd, sal waterbeperkings steeds in 2004 en 2005 van krag moet wees, selfs op vlak 2. Dít beteken dat geen water dan vir tuine gebruik mag word nie en strenger maatreëls wat die handel en nywerheid raak, sal mettertyd toegepas word wat op húl beurt werkgeleenthede sal beïnvloed.

Inwoners sal hul verantwoordelikheid ten opsigte van waterverbruik moet nakom totdat daar voldoende in die behoefte voorsien kan word. Die beoogde Skuifraamdam in die Bergrivier sal die watervoorraad met 17% laat toeneem. Afgesien van die voorsiening vir huishoudelike verbruik, sal 30% ook beskikbaar wees vir besproeiing.

Daar is besluit om met dié projek voort te gaan nadat plaaslike owerhede verantwoordelikheid vir behoeftebestuur en die bestuur van die opvanggebiede aanvaar het. Damme in die Bergrivierstelsel is tans slegs 45,9% vol; die laangste in ses jaar.

Streng waterbeperkings geld in die munisipaliteit van die Weskusdistrik waar water uit die Bergrivierstelsel gebruik word.

Nywerhede in die gebied se waterverbruik word tans beperk tot dié van die vorige jaar. Die visbedryf ondervind egter groot probleme. Nywerhede soos Saldanhastaal het reeds teen groot koste uiters gesofistikeerde herwinningsaanlegte opgerig om water meer produktief te benut.

Verdere besnoeiing sal onvermydelik tot ‘n afname in produksie en verdere werksverlies kan lei. Die water uit die Bergrivierstelsel wat tans in die munisipaliteit van die Weskusdistrik beskikbaar is, sal hoogstens nog twee jaar in die verwagte aanvraag kan voorsien.

Die reserwe-bepaling van die Bergrivierstelsel is nog ver van afgehandel. Dit is onwaarskynlik dat bykomende toekennings gedoen sal kan word sonder die inligting van omgewingsimpakstudies wat van die uiterste belang is vir die voortbestaan van die riviermonding.

Die nuwe waterwet se bepaling van `use it or lose it’ het tot uitbreiding in die landbousektor gelei. Die uitoefening van dié regte plaas die Bergrivier onder geweldige druk. Dit is te betwyfel of die stelsel sonder die Skuifraamdam in die aanvraag sal kan voorsien, ‘n siening wat Agri Wes- Kaap ondersteun.

Dié bykomende onttrekkings, sonder die nodige vrylating uit opgaargeriewe, werk al meer negatief in op die gehalte van die onderste deel van die Bergrivier en indien dit nie behoorlik bestuur word nie, sal dit onomkeerbaar wees. Die bou van die dam is dus absoluut noodsaaklik vir doeltreffende groei in dié gebiede.

Die Clanwilliamdam het geen bekendstelling nodig by diegene wat in die Wes- Kaap woon nie. Dit raak al belangriker dat dié damwal gelig word. Die behoefte is reeds meer as die kapasiteit van die dam. Met die beplande toetrede van kleinboere in dié gebied, sal geensins aan die behoeftes voldoen kan word nie. ‘n Volume water, gelykstaande aan sewe Clanwilliamdamme, loop jaarliks in die see weg omdat daar nie aan die behoefte voldoen kan word nie. Dié water kon vir die ekonomiese groei van die gebied aangewend word.

Ons water is kosbaar. Of mens water gratis kry en of jy daarvoor betaal, ons sal moet leer om dit te waardeer en dit as sodanig te bewaar sodat ons nageslag voldoende sal hê vir die groei van Suid-Afrika. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)

[If people still think their attempt is merely a drop in the great ocean, they must remember that if everyone saves a small amount, together we save a great deal. The current implementation of the savings measures have contributed to a 10% saving in the water supply of the Unicity.

Cape Town is one of the cities in Southern Africa with the lowest water usage per capita. I realise that this is a very sensitive matter which will also have to be managed that way, but as a result of the rising needs in water usage, the building of the Skruifraam Dam can no longer be postponed.

If the dam is completed by 2006 and the rainfall remains unchanged, water restrictions will still be in operation in 2004 and 2005, even at level 2. This means that no water may then be used for gardens and in time stricter measures affecting trade and industry will have to implemented, which in turn will influence job opportunities.

Residents will have to meet their obligations with regard to water usage until the need can be sufficiently met. The envisaged Skruifraam Dam on the Berg River will increase the water supply by 17%. Apart from the provision for household use, 30% will also be available for irrigation.

It was decided to proceed with this project after local authorities accepted the responsibility for needs management and the management of the catchment areas. Dams in the Berg River system are currently only 45,9 % full; the lowest level in six years.

Strict water restrictions are in operation in the municipality of the West Coast district, where water from the Berg River system is used. The water usage of industries in the area is currently restricted to that of the previous year. However, the fishing industry is experiencing big problems. Industries like Saldanha Steel have already erected extremely sophisticated recovery plants at great cost in order to utilise water more productively.

Further cuts could unavoidably lead to a possible decline in production and further job losses. The water from the Berg River system which is currently available in the West Coast district municipality will be able to meet the expected demand for another two years at most. The stipulation of reserves of the Berg River system has not nearly been completed. It is unlikely that additional allocations can be made without information from environmental impact studies, which are of the utmost importance for the continued existence of the river mouth.

The new water Act’s provision of `use it or lose it’ has led to extension in the agricultural sector. The exercising of these rights places the Berg River under tremendous pressure. It is doubtful whether the system will be able to meet the demand without the Skruifraam Dam, a view which is supported by Agri Western Cape.

These additional withdrawals, without the necessary release from reserve facilities, is having an increasingly negative impact on the quality of the lower portion of the Berg River and if it is not managed properly, it will be irreversible. The building of the dam is therefore absolutely essential for effective growth in these areas.

The Clanwilliam Dam needs no introduction to those who live in the Western Cape. It is becoming increasingly important that this dam wall be raised. The demand already exceeds the capacity of the dam. With the planned entry of subsistence farmers in this area, the demands will not be met at all. A volume of water, equal to seven Clanwilliam Dams, runs into the sea annually because the need cannot be met. This water could be used for the economic growth of the area.

Our water is precious. Whether one receives water free or whether one pays for it, we will have to learn to appreciate it and to conserve it as such so that our descendants will have enough for the growth of South Africa. [Applause.]]

Mr T B TAABE: I want to take this opportunity to thank you, Madam Chair, and hon members of this august House for allowing me the opportunity to participate in the debate this afternoon.

I also want to thank the Minister, Comrade Ronnie Kasrils, for having steered the Water Affairs and Forestry ship in the manner in which he has done since he was appointed to this position.

Before I start my speech, I want to say that the House should recognise the manner in which some of our members use the kinds of political remarks which have become a sort of hallmark of the debates to which one is entertained in this Chamber. My heartfelt thanks to the hon member Versfeld, who was indeed well behaved this afternoon. [Laughter.]

The hon member Durr’s inputs were very constructive, at least for the first time in this century. As the ANC we want to recognise this improvement. [Interjections.] Obviously the same cannot be said about the well- documented narcissistic and myopic views ably expressed by the hon member Ackermann. [Laughter.]

Mr C ACKERMANN: Mamparralanga.

Mr T B TAABE: The political myopia displayed in this House is mind- boggling.

The transition to democracy in our country has shifted our focus from the ideological struggle against apartheid to a more practical struggle to ensure basic human rights for all our people. [Interjections.]

These rights include the provision of clean drinking water to the majority of our people who have suffered water deprivation as a result of an unequal distribution of natural resources in favour of a minority.

Previously, departments responsible for water supply did not regard themselves as responsible for ensuring that the citizens of this country, all of them, had water. At the time they argued that they had no mandate for the areas in which the majority of our people resided.

It is well known that this country was divided into so-called Bantustans as a consequence of apartheid’s policy of separate development. The central department of water affairs had no jurisdiction in the areas where the majority of our people resided.

These were generally the more arid parts of the country where 75% of the population subsisted on 13% of the land. These areas became increasingly poverty-stricken, over the years, with little or no effective service provision. The consequences of these policies on water sector have been far- reaching. Not only were there an estimated 12 million to 14 million people without any formal water supplies, and 21 million people without formal sanitation services, when we as the ANC took over in this country in 1994, but there were also serious environmental effects of poverty which impacted on the water resource base in this country.

Mr C ACKERMANN: [Inaudible.]

Mr T B TAABE: I can assure the hon Ackermann that this is well- documented.

This included encroaching, desertification, deforestation, substantial loss of topsoil, widespread diffuse pollution, invasion of alien plant species and other factors which resulted in reduced ground water recharge potential, the increased siltation of limited storage facilities and an increased danger of periodic serious flooding. All of these are now being experienced in this country.

The country has also faced cyclical periods of extreme drought which the poor majority is ill-equipped to resist. Without formal services of known capacity and reliability, and without responsible and capable authorities, as in the past, rural communities have been left to fend for themselves. [Interjections.] As a responsible Government, we are trying to mop up this mess. I hope the hon member Ackermann is listening. [Interjections.] These were, and to some extent are still, the daunting realities which face the new Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.

One of the first tasks which the Ministry of Water Affairs and Forestry had to undertake after 1994 - if his memory served him well the hon Ackermann would agree with me - was the drafting of the White Paper on Water Supply and Sanitation Policy, for the first time in decades …

The CHAIRPERSON OF THE NCOP: Order! May I remind you, hon member, that you are meant to be addressing the Chair. [Interjections.]

Mr T B TAABE: Chairperson, the White Paper on Water Supply and Sanitation Policy was the starting point in the review of water policy in South Africa. This was later followed by a complete rewrite of the old Water Act to help our new Government account for the needs of a modern developing industrial economy and to ensure equity for those who had not enjoyed such services in the past.

Given the legacy we inherited in 1994, it required astute, visionary and innovative leadership, as ably demonstrated by the hon the Minister responsible, Comrade Kader Asmal. In the process, with that kind of visionary leadership, we were able to distribute water equally among the millions of South Africans who were previously denied this basic human right.

I am proud to say that this is indeed the kind of leadership we have witnessed in Comrade Ronnie Kasrils in his department. This enabled us, as ANC Government, to deliver in the manner in which we have, particularly in the rural areas where the poorest of the poor reside.

Since 1994 alone - we have always said this, and we are saying it now in this Chamber - more than 6,5 million of our people have been provided with clean water at an outlay of over R4 billion. Almost 1 million persons were reached in the last financial year. Just during the last financial year a million people were able to gain access to running water.

As the ANC, we are proud of these achievements of the Minister and his team in the department. At the same time we are also mindful of the enormous challenges that still face his department, such as the 7 million more people in rural areas whom we must still reach and the need to develop strategies to ensure that our water resources are preserved for generations to come.

It is most heartening to note the Minister’s statement to the effect that there is going to be a sanitation policy and detailed implementation plan, which Cabinet must confirm, to ensure that we as the ANC remain unrelenting, in our efforts to create conditions which will ensure that, in the ultimate analysis, our people do indeed enjoy a better life.

For that reason, we have been told by the Minister this afternoon, R1 billion more has been made available for water and sanitation programmes. We have also been told that in the previous year something in the region of R690 million was spent on these projects, which to us is an achievement. What more could the prophets of doom honestly expect from a party, from a Government that delivers at the pace that we do. [Time expired.] [Applause.]

The MINISTER OF WATER AFFAIRS AND FORESTRY: Madam Chairperson, I would like to thank everybody for the way in which they participated in this debate here. The very positive spirit and approach is highly appreciated. There is clearly consensus on this colourless, odourless, tasteless, marvellous resource: water. As I said in this House yesterday, when it comes to trees, they are all green - we cannot distinguish in the terms that human beings do - but if the fires break out, whatever our colour, if we are unfortunate enough, we all turn the same colour.

There is marvellous consensus. I will attempt very quickly to deal with the more important points. Everybody had something important to say. It is not possible to do justice to this, but I have taken note of everything said, as have my officials here, and we will strive to get back to all the members in terms of certain of the questions raised. I will certainly take them all seriously and follow them through.

Let me briefly thank Rev Moatshe for his input and simply say regarding the key substance of his speech about the Modderspruit and Bapong area, near Sun City, that in fact it is quite a common occurrence for people who already are receiving water - and they are receiving water by basic RDP standards - to ask for more and look for ways to augment their water supply. We understand this of course, Government is going to continue to help people ascend what I would like to refer to as the water ladder, in order to get better and better services, the kind of services that those of us from privileged backgrounds, or getting good privileged salaries, are enjoying right now.

I am not saying that a simple RDP standard is enough. But, and we have heard the pleas from around the country, there are still 7 million people who are not receiving anything. Clearly that is where the priorities must lie. We have been investigating this very issue, because the people of Modderspruit and Bapong have written to me, and in fact I have met with them. The department has set aside some R200 000 this year for the evaluation of possible ways of augmenting the supply. They do deserve to have it augmented, as the pressure is rather low in that area.

I would like to say to the hon Nyakane from the Northern Province that I have looked into this issue of the Selati River and Phalaborwa and the mining companies and the pollution there. I have met people from the area, including Fed Mines. It does appear that there is confusion about the extent to which they are polluting. I am not letting them off the hook, but I think that some aspects of the pollution, or the claimed pollution, of the river are exaggerated.

I would like to say to Kgoši Mokoena that I think he has been a star here today. I would like to say to members of the opposition, who sometimes claim that ANC members are coming with sweetheart questions, that I remember very well last year when the Kgoši was grilling me and holding me to account from item to item. I was rather concerned today, and I wanted an assurance from my department that we had followed everything up - although I had followed some of them up myself.

I would like to tell the Kgoši that one of the big things we announced in the course of this year was the development of our reticulated water to approximately 56 000 people in what was formerly the Arabie Dam area, near Sekhukhuneland. We are well on the way now. By March of next year, all 76 000 people in 56 villages will have received water.

It is an example of how we have to approach our priorities systematically and deal with people all over this wonderful country why are all asking to have the service delivered yesterday. We have got to try as best as we can to speed up the service, as I indicated in my speech.

I do want to say to Kgoši Mokoena that, I listened very carefully to the point about the renaming of dams, rivers, etc. As members know, the Arabie was renamed, at the request of the Sekhukhuneland district council and premier, the Flag Boshielo Dam. But I have put the ball in the court of all the provinces, and I have written to every single premier of all the provinces, pointing out the fact that there are certain inappropriate names.

In the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal there are rivers called Boesmansrivier. I have said, and the President has asked: Why do we still have such names? Clearly, we need to change these names. There are certain names of rivers and places which still include a dreadful derogatory South African term, Kafferspruit and so on.

I have seen letters in the Eastern Cape press challenging me as to why I have to or want to change a name, because in the end it is up to the communities of Boesmansriviermond and so on. I would appeal to those who have lived there and enjoyed those names, and who feel that there is nothing wrong with them, having been used to those names against the background of my pigmentation, to understand the sensitivity and why we do need to change these names. We are not obliterating the heritage of any of our people, but we must be sensitive. So, I would like to thank members very much. I ask the members of this honourable House to do their best, so that we can speedily advance in this regard.

I would like to tell the hon Mrs Versfeld, regarding the Skuifraam Dam and related projects in the Berg River, that this has, in fact been a subject of very careful study since 1986. The environmental impact has been judged to be well within acceptable limits. With regard to the Table Mountain aquifer, my department has emphasised the need to, firstly, confirm whether it can yield, sustainably, the amounts promised and, secondly, conduct careful environmental impact assessments before any major extractions are implemented.

To the hon MEC for the Eastern Cape, Comrade Nkwinti, I listened very carefully to his key points about the need for a study of the comparative cost of services. This is a vital issue to those directly provided by the municipalities and by water boards. What I am suggesting is that this should, in fact, be studied by both Salga and the SA Association of Water Boards.

Members here should note that too often, when cheap so-called services are provided by neglecting maintenance in relation to a number of municipalities, the chickens come home to roost sooner rather than later when replacement becomes so much more expensive. In my department we have experienced this to our own cost.

I would like to thank the hon Mr Durr very much for his very strong support. I would like to say that the Langebaan ground water extraction is very carefully managed and monitored by a special monitoring committee, which includes enviromentalists and users, namely Saldanha Steel, the district council, as well as my department.

Our concern is to ensure that there is no over-extraction, and the hon member was quite correct. What a wonderful part of the country, and it is a very sensitive enviromental area. We have to guard against over-extraction, because there is a real risk that surrounding areas could be negatively affected. I welcome very much the hon member’s concern and his support in this regard.

With regard to hon member Combrink’s reference to the Paris Dam, I am very keenly interested in that. The department will continue to assist the board to find ways to meet its financial commitments. We will also help to interact with other agencies and organisations.

In fact, I have been making plans to visit them. I must tell the Kgoši that I have noted the name, the Paris Dam and I have spoken to the people of that area, the Impala Board. I have said to them that these dams, like the Skuifraam Dam by the way, just have provincial names at present. Once they are completed, we are going to need appropriate names. Certainly, regarding the Paris dam, we do not need to remind ourselves about La Belle Francoise. We should find a very suitable name for KwaZulu-Natal.

Once the Skuifraam is completed, it will be up to the local communities. It is not Red Ronnie who is going to come along and ensure that we name his dams the Stalin, Lenin, Fidel Castro and Mao Tse Tung dams, as much as I might like to do so. But we do live in a plural democracy now. [Laughter.]

I want to come to a question from the hon Paulus Ngcobo of KwaZulu-Natal, a very topical and difficult issue. The issue of tariffs is one in which I have taken a very keen interest, as he will know from today’s Business Day. The issue at hand is about the costs incurred in extending rural water supply to the rural communities in Umgeni area. This area incurred considerable costs in doing this.

Those rural communities now form part of the Maritzburg and Durban, or Thekwini, municipalities. The question is: Who takes responsibility? If services are transferred to the municipalities, do they take the assets only or must they not take the liabilities at the same time? I cannot resolve this issue by myself, because of the broad range of principles involved.

I will need to meet with the relevant local authorities together with the Ministers of Finance and for Provincial and Local Government. It is worth noting that the Dolphin Coast’s private-sector supplier is presenting a similar problem highlighting the need to regulate the contracts between municipalities and water service providers.

Finally, I would like to put two points to the hon Rossouw regarding the climate change. The national water resource strategy to be published this year will address the challenges and the responses that will be required to deal with them. I would like to thank her very much for her very excellent input and support as well.

Just on a lighter note, is Rev Chabaku still here? I would like to thank her for reminding us about the need to plant the trees to extend the greening and to develop market gardens everywhere. One of the things that inspires me most, in terms of food and trees for Africa, is the eduplant programme, whereby they have developed market gardens with the school learners in hundreds of our mainly previously disadvantaged schools.

My department has given R3 million towards this in order to ensure that this programme takes place every year. It is the most exciting thing that I have attended.

But, the final point, on a very light note, is about Dr Conroy’s toast.

He had said that he believed that human beings are made up of 92% of water. I did drink my full glass and I want to thank you Madam Chairperson, for giving me a few minutes’ break, because at that particular stage I did have to go round the corner. [Laughter.] Thank you very much indeed. I had taken too much water, but I believe that 92% is quite an exaggeration. [Laughter.] I have seen figures recently which claimed that frogs are 85% of water, chickens 75%, and we humans 65%.

Irrespective of how much, we need to top it up every day. I would like to tell the hon Paulus that we should do it with good water from our taps. We are one of the few countries in the world where one can open the taps of cities and towns and drink the water straight. There are very few countries in the world where one can do that. [Applause.] Our water is very good indeed, and I want to give credit to all the municipalities and water boards involved.

The final point is, as has been said by a number of hon members, that we must take care of this marvellous resource, our water. I thank hon members for their support and time. [Applause.]

Debate concluded.

The Council adjourned at 16:41. ____

            ANNOUNCEMENTS, TABLINGS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

1. The Speaker and the Chairperson:

 (1)    The Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology on 31 May
     2001 submitted drafts of the "Woordeboek van die Afrikaanse Taal"
     Act Repeal Bill, 2001, the Academy of Science of South Africa
     Bill, 2001, and the Africa Institute of South Africa Bill, 2001,
     as well as the memoranda explaining the objects of the proposed
     legislation, to the Speaker and the Chairperson in terms of Joint
     Rule 159. The drafts have been referred to the Portfolio Committee
     on Arts, Culture, Science and Technology and the Select Committee
     on Education and Recreation by the Speaker and the Chairperson,
     respectively, in accordance with Joint Rule 159(2).

1. The Speaker and the Chairperson:

 The following papers were tabled and are now referred to the relevant
 committees as mentioned below:


 (1)    The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on
     Public Accounts for consideration and report. It is also referred
     to the Portfolio Committee on Minerals and Energy and to the
     Select Committee on Economic Affairs for information:


     Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote
     23 - Minerals and Energy for 1999-2000 [RP 132-2000].


 (2)    The following paper is referred to the Standing Committee on
     Public Accounts for consideration and report. It is also referred
     to the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Forestry and to
     the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs for
     information:


     Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote
     35 - Water Affairs and Forestry and Related Accounts for 1999-2000
     and a Performance Audit of the Project Management of the Community
     Water Supply [RP 144-2000].

TABLINGS:

National Assembly and National Council of Provinces:

Bills:

1. The Minister of Sport and Recreation:

 (1)    Wysigingswetsontwerp op die Suid-Afrikaanse Sportkommissie [W 2
     - 2001].


     The South African Sports Commission Amendment Bill [B 2 - 2001]
     (National Assembly - sec 75) was introduced in the National
     Assembly on 6 February 2001 and referred to the Portfolio
     Committee on Sport and Recreation.

Papers:

1. The Speaker and the Chairperson:

 Report of the Auditor-General on the Financial Statements of Vote 34 -
 Transport for 1999-2000 [RP 143-2000].

Referred to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts for consideration and report. Also referred to the Portfolio Committee on Water Affairs and Forestry and to the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs for information.