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"Water washing away poverty" is this year's slogan for
National Water Week, which will take place from 22-28 March. The
2004 Water Week is especially significant as it coincides with
Government's 10 years of democracy celebrations and International
Water Day on 22 March.
The focus of National Water Week is on raising awareness among all
South Africans of the responsibility they have to use water wisely
and sparingly. This year we also celebrate the success of Government's
water delivery programme and management during the first decade of
democracy. This is a particularly important achievement given the
backlog inherited in 1994.
A decade ago, around 14 million people did not have access to safe
drinking water and some 21 million people did not have access to a
basic level of sanitation.
In the ten years since democracy, the Department of Water Affairs
and Forestry has provided almost 10 million South Africans with
access to clean water. South Africa has more than achieved the rate
of delivery required to meet the millennium targets set by the Heads
of State at the United Nations in 2000. At that meeting President
Thabo Mbeki together with 100 other Heads of State, committed to
halving the proportion of people lacking safe water in the world by
2015.
Although the goal is to eradicate the backlog of access to water (5
million) and adequate sanitation (16 million) by 2008 and 2010
respectively, this is not enough for the Government or the
Department. Our vision for the next ten years is to move people up
the Water Ladder, from communal taps to the convenience and dignity
of water in people's own yards with each household having its own
toilet and even, in time hot and cold running water inside their
homes.
The provision of access to water, particularly for rural communities
is about improving their lives beyond mere subsistence. Apart from
avoiding the hardship of carting water over long distances there are
also other benefits that result directly from having easy access to
clean water, improved hygiene and better sanitation, such as health
benefits from reduced transmission of water borne and other
diseases.
The Department has spearheaded the Free Basic Water Policy which,
when implemented by Local Government, ensures households receive up
to 6 000 litres of clean water every month at no cost. Many South
Africans, even though they may have access to clean water, cannot
afford to pay for a service that is so essential to their health and
basic needs. Already more than 27,6 million people are benefiting
from the policy.
The "blueprint for survival", the National Water Resource
Strategy to be launched during 2004 will ensure that the objectives
of the Constitution and the Water Act are met. South Africa is a
water-stressed country and this strategy describes the ways in which
the country's water resources will be protected, used, developed,
conserved, managed and controlled.
Major events taking place during National Water Week include the
Women in Water Awards on 19 March, the Johannesburg Water Festival
on 23 March and the Baswa le Meetse (Youth in Water) Awards on 26
March.
The Women in Water Awards honours both professional and
community-based women who are involved in water management. It aims
to recognise the key role that women play in poverty eradication,
education and sustainable development in both the urban and rural
context.
Eskom Generation Division is the sole corporate sponsor for Women in
Water 2004. Eskom is a major strategic water user in South Africa
and is committed to advancing the role women play in the water
sector.
The Baswa le Meetse awards are presented to schoolchildren who
produce and convey inspiring messages to the public about water and
sanitation through theatre and arts (drama, cultural music, poems,
praise-singing and drawing).
Ronnie Kasrils, MP
Water Affairs and Forestry
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