R17bn loan for water & sanitation projects won't treat deep-rooted issues in DWS, warns ActionSA

JOHANNESBURG - ActionSA has warned that the R17 billion loan to fund water and sanitation projects will be wasted if there isn’t a major overhaul of management systems.

The New Development Bank, founded by BRICS group countries, recently announced it had granted South Africa a loan to address major water inefficiencies in the country.

The loan will fall under the municipal infrastructure grant, which is a conditional grant allocated to municipalities to assist with infrastructure backlogs and water provision projects.

ActionSA's representative in the parliamentary portfolio committee on water and sanitation, Malebo Kobe, said that the investment would not treat the deep-rooted issues that continue to plague various sectors of the department.

"As ActionSA, we will monitor the projects expected to emerge from the New Development Bank loans to ensure they are executed as efficiently and effectively, fostering long-term improvement in our water resource management."