KwaZulu-Natal is the least electrified province in South Africa, with about 50% of it not connected to the grid, and at least R20bn is needed to deal with the water challenges also facing the province.
This was revealed at the water and energy summit in Durban over the weekend.
“The backlogs on electricity services are still enormous and most households still do not have access to electricity,” Nomusa Dube told delegates at the summit.
Dube said KwaZulu-Natal was one of the provinces lagging behind in the eradication of electricity backlogs.
“It remains the least electrified province in the country with an estimation of 47% of the province un-electrified in mainly rural areas.
“There are many rural areas that do not have access to electricity and still rely on alternative sources of energy such as firewood and LPG.”
Dube said the national cooperative governance department had indicated R8. 9bn was needed to eradicate electricity backlogs in the country.
Energy department director general Nelisiwe Magubane said KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape still had many areas not electrified since the dawn of democracy.
The water challenges are mainly as a result of ageing infrastructure, according to Trevor Balzer, acting director-general of the Department of Water Affairs.
Balzer was also addressing delegates at the water and energy summit.
Part of the purpose of the summit is to create a greater awareness of the nature of the challenges faced by the country in respect of water resources.
Balzer outlined the extent of the country’s demand for water and the existing backlogs.
He also reminded delegates that the summit was to share ideas, explore innovative technologies and devise proper service delivery mechanisms.
Balzer said South Africa was the 30th driest country in the world.
He said the national department was committed to working with KwaZulu-Natal in dealing with the province’s water challenges.
“Water is essential as no development is possible without water. KwaZulu-Natal still faces extreme poverty levels compared to other provinces. Its biggest challenge is that of ageing infrastructure.
“This makes it difficult for the province and its municipalities to provide this basic necessity,” he said.
On a positive note Balzer said his department had made available R146million to uMkhanyakude (located in the northeast corner of the province) district municipality.
Balzer said the money would be used to build infrastructure to access clean running water from the Jozini Dam to uMkhanyakude.
“For decades the community of uMkhanyakude has not benefitted from the dam. This is a serious disservice, which is why we are funding this project,” he said.
He also stressed the importance of municipalities effectively managing their water and energy systems, and appealed to ratepayers and civil organisations to not withhold fees from municipalities, even if they are aggrieved with service delivery.
Premier Zweli Mkhize said it was “crucial that we (government) guarantee water and energy security in the province, otherwise service delivery will be compromised.
“Wherever we go to the different corners of our province, issues of water and energy always top the agenda.
“This is the chief reason why we need to come up with a concrete plan that will clearly define the role of the government and each municipality.”
He challenged his province to proactively deal with the challenges of water shortages. He will request all municipalities to submit to his office their plans on water and energy resource management.
Additionally, he wants input from local, provincial and national government on these plans, with the aim of moving towards a single plan for water management.
Mkhize said one common plan will improve the use of available resources in different sectors and in turn speed up service delivery.
Credit to: Times Live, The Sowetan and BuaNews
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