- Officials from Local and District Municipalities and the City of Cape Town
- Organised Local Government
- Representatives from various Provincial Departments
- Representatives from the National Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (Pretoria, Eastern Cape andWestern Cape)
- Civil Society organisations
- Academics
Extracts from Speech:
A gathering such as this, designed to bring together all stakeholders to consult on how to improve ourservices to the people of the Western Cape, is truly a blessed gathering.
There is no greater cause in the world than the cause of service to humanityWhile we may be more fortunate in the Western Cape, in terms of the number of people without access towater services, it is estimated that there are still some 300,000 people without access to adequate and cleanwater and a further 500,000 people without access to hygienic sanitation.
Our mission as the water services authorities, government departments and civil society organisationsshould be - not to rest until all our people enjoy access to these basic services, whether they are in a largeCity or forgotten in some farmland or informal settlement.
For us to deal with the major challenges of:
- Backlogs in basic services
- Poverty and unemployment
- Transformation of our organisations and society
- Bringing into the mainstream of political, social and economic life, those previously disadvantaged, but inparticular, the women with whom we need to work together;
I therefore encourage you to work together in this sector, and look for opportunities to develop even moremulti-sectoral forums. Working together makes good business sense, saves resources and allows us tofocus our energies on what is truly important.
The main objective of local government is the provision of municipal services that are viable, affordable andsustainable. There are an increasing percentage of households who can't afford to pay, but who aredepending on these services for a better quality of life. The Provincial Government's iKapa elihlumayo: Hope,Delivery & Dignity for the Next Decade has made a commitment of bringing dignity to households living inpoverty. It is therefore our aim to ensure that at least a basic level of services is provided free to them and socontributing to the fight against poverty.
In the Western Cape all municipalities have already implemented free basic services in terms of Councilresolutions. To date the main focus on free basic services has been free basic water and free basicelectricity. In the Western Cape all 30 municipalities provide a certain amount of free water to their indigenthouseholds.
The new water services sector strategy - now distributed to all of the participants, goes a long way infocussing our attention on key issues such as:
- Eliminating water and sanitation backlogs
- Improving sector collaboration
- Ensuring effective and continuously improving water services institutions
The achievement of the above strategic objectives and long term sustainability of services should take intoaccount other success factors such as:
- Encouraging greater participation of civil society in the water sector
- Ensuring gender issues are given high priority in our programmes and that participation of women areentrenched in policies, practices and projects
- Using appropriate approaches and technologies when planning and implementing water and sanitationprojects
- Protecting our precious water resources and the environment which sustains these resources
I share with you the vision you have set for the sector, namely: All people in the Western Cape areprovided with adequate, safe, appropriate and affordable water and sanitation services by a wellcapacitated,vibrant, environmentally sensitive, accountable and unified water sector and institutions.
In conclusion, Chairperson, many of us living in the Western Cape fall into the trap of forgetting how good lifeis in our province. We forget that the inflow of people from all parts of South Africa, and from around theworld, is testimony to our ongoing success. We forget that we have every right to be proud of the WesternCape and that we should be proud to live and work here. That said, we must always remember that muchwork remains to raise the standard of living for thousands in our poorest communities.
On behalf of our Government and the people of the Western Cape, I would also like to thank you for theinvaluable contribution that your efforts have made to the continuing success of our province. You have ourundertaking that we, as government, will continue striving to create the best possible environment for growth,development and prosperity in the Western Cape. This is iKapa eliHlumayo- our agenda for Government aswe work to build our World Class Province which Cares.
