On reliable/quality drinking water

REPLY:
Honourable Chairperson;
Let me thank Honourable Mmoiemang for this important question.
Honourable Members, as I said before, Water is Life! Water is a fundamental human right as outlined in Chapter 2 of our Constitution. 

This morning, President Ramaphosa opened the Water and Sanitation Summit convened by the Minister of Water and Sanitation. 

The summit is convened to ensure that we avoid potential water crisis and secondly to ensure that we provide reliable and quality water throughout the country.
President Ramaphosa has established a Water Task Team, which I am chairing, working with Ministers and Water Authorities to provide clean water and sanitation services to all communities.

In executing its task, the Water Task Team has been conducting outreach programmes, inspections and oversight visits to assess challenges in communities affected by water supply challenges. 

The Water Task Team, in collaboration with the Department of Water and Sanitation, COGTA, MISA, National Treasury, and the Infrastructure Fund, has developed intervention strategies to support various municipalities to improve their water and sanitation services. 

In addition, the Presidential eThekwini Working Group was established by the President to implement the turnaround strategy and action plans that leverage government and private sector resources, expertise, and capabilities to address water and sanitation challenges in eThekwini Metro and surrounding areas. 

As part of addressing funding challenges the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has set up a Water Partnerships Office (WPO) that assists municipalities to contract for public private partnerships (PPPs). A vehicle for achieving this is the Infrastructure Fund, which is a blended financing instrument aimed at making infrastructure projects attractive for private sector investment.

Honourable Chairperson,

To assist municipalities that are impacted by ageing infrastructure, government is also implementing the following interventions:
• Implementation of more effective water conservation and demand management programmes to ensure that industries use water as sparingly. This includes implementation of water restrictions with the aim to reduce consumption and ensure sustainable distribution of water to residents. 
• COGTA has established Municipalities Performance Turnaround Strategies that are aimed at providing an overview of plans and areas requiring national and provincial support, focusing on the 10 worst-performing municipalities in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North-West, and Northern Cape.
• Development of multi-year Reliable Water and Sanitation Services Delivery Implementation Plans to assess service delivery status and identify solutions, thereby prioritizing projects for grant funding.
• The Department of Water and Sanitation, COGTA, Municipal Infrastructure Support Agency, Department of Human Settlements, and National Treasury are allocating over R60 billion per annum to municipalities for water and sanitation infrastructure, including technical, engineering, capacity building, training, and financial management advice.
• COGTA is allocating funding through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant, earmarked for operations and maintenance.
• The Department of Water and Sanitation has also developed an Infrastructure Assets Management Guideline, to assist and support municipalities to develop their own operations and maintenance plans. 

The Department of Water and Sanitation is also promoting the following policy programmes and interventions.
• Water conservation and demand management programmes to bring our water consumption per capita levels in line with international benchmarks.
• Development of Five-Year Reliable Water & Sanitation Services Delivery Implementation Plans through interactive sessions with WSAs to develop project scoping resulting in Five- Year Pipeline of Projects that are prioritised for grant funding. 
• DWS has also developed an Infrastructure Assets Management Guideline, to assist and support municipalities to develop their own Operations and Maintenance plans.

These measures aim to ring-fence revenues from water sales and equip water services institutions with the necessary technical and managerial capabilities to maintain and operate infrastructure effectively.

I thank you Honourable Chairperson.

 

On service delivery/job creation

REPLY:
Honourable Chairperson;
Let me thank Honourable Boshoff for this important question.

Honourable Members, the National Development Plan, 2030,  outlines a long-term economic growth strategy focusing on macroeconomic stability, structural reforms, and improved state capability to achieve sustainable growth, address inequality, and promote inclusive growth.

As government, we must tackle the financial and operational challenges within our State-Owned Enterprises (SOE’s) to boost growth, hence we have introduced a number of initiatives. To this end, Government will spend more than R940 billion on infrastructure over the next three years, including R375 billion in spending by state owned companies (SOE’s).

Transnet has developed a Five-Year Capital Investment Plan that focuses on infrastructure rehabilitation, capacity expansion, and freight logistics modernisation. Transnet will further invest R127.7 billion on rail, port, and pipeline infrastructure over the next five years to increase network efficiency and boost long-term economic development. 

The investment plan includes:
• Rail infrastructure rehabilitation – Addressing backlogs in locomotive availability, track maintenance and signalling systems to restore reliability and improve operational efficiency.
• Port expansions and modernisation – The plan involves increasing container handling capacity at Durban, Ngqura, and Cape Town ports, upgrading bulk commodity terminals, purchasing and refurbishing equipment, and acquiring new tugs to enhance port efficiency.
• Pipeline infrastructure investments – Expanding fuel and gas pipeline capacity to enhance energy security and efficiency in fuel transportation.
Given Transnet’s financial constraints, the funding required for these investments will come from multiple sources, private and public sector, including Transnet’s own balance sheet. 

Transnet plans to improve logistics reliability, support industrial expansion, and facilitate trade growth in South Africa's freight transport system. The country's infrastructure investment goals of 10% rely on successful mobilization of private and public sector capital. 
The network industries are critical for infrastructural development necessary for economic growth. Therefore, private sector participation in SOEs is key to enable access to capital and capacity required to expand infrastructure in South Africa. 

On the energy space, Eskom has been able to build 4 734 km of transmission lines over the last ten years. However, the unsuccessful allocation of 3 200 MW of wind capacity under Bid Window 6 has necessitated the expansion of the grid to connect renewable energy. The Eskom grid still needs to be expanded by 14 218 km of lines by 2030. 

Furthermore, government has announced the launch of Independent Transmission Projects (ITP) which is a key initiative to transform the country's energy and infrastructure sectors. The ITP process aims to unlock substantial investment in transmission infrastructure, which is crucial for supporting economic growth, attracting private sector participation, and driving innovation in the energy sector.

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in South Africa can benefit citizens by utilizing private sector resources and expertise to address public needs, improve service delivery, and stimulate economic growth. By aligning government and private sector objectives through consultative and participatory techniques and regular communication, resources can be efficiently used for a larger population.

Government and private sector must therefore collaborate to assist ordinary South Africans, especially those from historically disadvantaged communities, to play a meaningful role in the mainstream economy and facilitate the creation of job opportunities, particularly for the youth.

I thank you Honourable Chairperson

On Disaster Management Plans

REPLY:
Honourable Chairperson;
Let me begin by appreciating this important question by Honourable Medupe.

Honourable Members, as a country we face significant risks from climate change, including extreme temperature changes, increased rainfall, floods, and threats to biodiversity and water resources. These natural disasters call for the creation of climate resilient and disaster management plans at all levels of government.

Over the past few weeks, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have been severely impacted by heavy rainfall and flooding, causing significant damage to critical infrastructure, roads, households, and tragic loss of human lives.

While Provincial and Municipal Disaster Management Teams continue to conduct rapid damage assessments to affected communities in order determine the extent and magnitude of damages, and further provide immediate relief to the needy, we have been advised that the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has already initiated contingency plans to mitigate these and future disasters. These are driven by relevant line function departments in line with their different mandates.Government is implementing strict measures to expedite the development of climate resilience and disaster management plans by municipalities, ensuring coordinated disaster response across all spheres of government. In this regard, the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) develops, monitors, and regularly reviews disaster management plans in line with the Disaster Management Act of 2002.

The Disaster Management Act mandates all government organs to create disaster management plans to prevent, mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. These plans outline investments in climate change adaptation, including ecosystem and community-based approaches. 

In terms of a unified approach to disaster and preparedness by municipalities and districts, NDMC and Provincial Disaster Management Centres (PDMC) are required to develop plans to ensure Risk Mitigation, Public Safety, Infrastructure Resilience, Resource Allocation, Coordination and Communication and Public Awareness and Education. To date, a total of 175 disaster management plans have been submitted to the National Disaster Management Centre.

We have also been advised that the KZN Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) has provided technical support to 54 municipalities and 12 sector departments in KwaZulu-Natal to develop disaster management plans, thus ensuring coordinated planning and response to disasters. 

Furthermore, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environment (DFFE) is responsible for coordinating the creation of Vulnerability Assessments and Climate Change Adaptation Response Plans for Provincial and District Municipalities. All nine Provinces and 44 District Municipalities have already developed these plans, requiring resource mobilization from various sectors, including the South African Weather Service's forecast and the NDMC's Hazard Profile.

We encourage all organs of the state to develop these plans through engagements with all relevant stakeholders to align efforts and streamline responsibilities. However, these engagements must be supported by the development of Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) to clarify roles and responsibilities.

I thank you Honourable Chairperson.

On Land Claims

REPLY:
Honourable Chairperson; 
Once more, let me thank Honourable Makesini for asking this important question. 

Honourable members, we have always maintained that the finalisation of outstanding land claims remains one of the key priorities of this government. Over successive years, we have made good progress regarding the settlement of land claims and returning the land to those who were previously dispossessed.  However, much more still needs to be done.

In accelerating land access and land reform, Government is working towards the conclusion of restitution cases, which includes prioritising old-order claims that would see the transfer of legally secure and legally registrable tenure to claimants with settlement packages. 

The Commission on Restitution of Land Rights has developed a Backlog Reduction Strategy to create a detailed database of all outstanding claims to be settled. The strategy focuses on improved policies and standard operating procedures to reduce the time it takes to settle land claims. 
Following the Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA) judgment, the Land Claims Court held that new-order land claims are interdicted pending finalisation of old-order claims, or until new amended legislation has been enacted. 

In this regard, the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights is prohibited from processing any new-order claims lodged between 1 July 2014 and 28 July 2016, until it has settled or referred to the Land Claims Court, all claims lodged on or before 31 December 1998, in terms of the old-order claims. The Commission has improved the speed of finalizing old-order claims; however, the main constraint is the lack of sufficient financial resources. As part of the 2025 Budget Review statement, the National Treasury has indicated that the Department of Land Reform and Rural Development will expedite the finalisation of outstanding land claims, prioritising older claims. In terms of these projections, R11.6 billion will be allocated over the medium-term to settle about 844 land restitution claims, with R3 billion earmarked to allocate 138 000 hectares of land.
The IMC on Land Reform and Agriculture will continue to coordinate and collaborate with key lead departments to improve the turnaround times and our capacity to fast-track the settlement of land claims, in support of the country’s broader land reform objectives. 

I thank you Honourable Chairperson.

On reassessment of troops

REPLY:
Honourable Chairperson; 
Let me thank Honourable Mokoena for this important question. Honourable members, South Africa remains committed and supportive to ongoing peace efforts on the African continent, in line with our foreign policy vision of a prosperous and peaceful continent. 
South Africa’s contribution in Peace Support Operations should not be measured in isolation, as the country participates through missions mandated and/or authorised by multilateral institutions such as the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).  

Honourable Chairperson, 
Undertaking peace keeping responsibility involves serious challenges and uncertainties. The recent death of 14 brave SANDF soldiers in the DRC who were dedicated to their mission and committed to peace, is a clear indication of these challenges. Once again, we would like to send our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased SANDF soldiers. 

On 13 March 2025, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held an Extraordinary Summit to address the security situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

The summit expressed concern over the ongoing deterioration of the situation in the Eastern DRC and resolved amongst other things:
• To terminate the Mandate of SAMIDRC and directed the commencement of a phased withdrawal of SAMIDRC troops from the DRC; 
• To emphasise its commitment to addressing the ongoing conflict in the DRC and supporting interventions for lasting peace and security in Eastern DRC, in line with the SADC Mutual Defence Pact of 2003.
• Reaffirm commitment to continue supporting the DRC in its pursuit of safeguarding its independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, sustainable peace, security, and development.
• To reiterate the decision from the joint Summit of the East African Community (EAC) and SADC to merge the Luanda and Nairobi Process and inclusion of more facilitators to enhance the peace-building process.

Honourable Chairperson, 

Let me reiterate that the decision by SADC to withdraw the SADC Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) should not be seen as a sign of defeat, or an abandonment of our peace efforts, rather, it should be seen as confidence-building measure to ensure peace and stability in the Eastern DRC.

To further strengthen the peace keeping efforts, the Joint Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) held a virtual meeting on 24 March 2025 to deliberate on the report of the joint EAC-SADC Ministers on the security situation in the Eastern DRC. The Joint Summit directed the commencement of the implementation of the Report and the Roadmap. 

The Joint Summit also appointed eminent persons as panel of facilitators to oversee the implementation of this process that includes former President, Kgalema Motlanthe, amongst other eminent persons.    

In this context, we welcome the recent progress and commitments made by EAC-SADC, and we also welcome the government of DRC and Rwanda commitment to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. President and I will also continue interventions in South Sudan, to try and avert the return to full scale war, and holding of peaceful elections.

I thank you Honourable Chairperson.

On Government/social partner collaborations

REPLY:
Honourable Chairperson; 
Let me thank Honourable Feni for this important question.

The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) has already signed three social compacts that are aimed at strengthening relationships and positively impacting the human development value chain in our country. The three social compacts are focusing on the following thematic areas:
• Building the foundations for learning; 
• Building skills for a transformed economy and society; and
• Building a capable and developmental state.
Each Social Compact reflects specific interventions that social partners implement in a coordinated manner to address the identified skills shortages. The signing of these compacts demonstrates government and social partner collaboration to address skills shortages in critical economic sectors. 

On Tuesday, 5th November 2024, in my capacity as Chairperson of the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) I had an opportunity to successful chair the inaugural meeting of the newly appointed Council members for the next five year term.  
The HRDC has since developed and approved the Reconceptualised Human Resource Development Strategy (2024-2033) and the Master Skills Plan (2024-2030) with four (4) key goals, namely:
• Goal 1: Improving early learning and schooling outcomes;
• Goal 2: Improving the employability of youth who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET);
• Goal 3: Improving responsiveness of the Post School Education and Training (PSET) system to skills demand;
• Goal 4: Improving governance, leadership and management in the Public Sector.

The Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDC) and its implementation plan, the Master Skills Plan (MSP), are designed to support the National Development Plan's 2030 vision, which focuses on economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.

Honourable Chairperson 

The Minister of Higher Education and Training, officially launched Phase 1 of the National Skills Fund (NSF) Disabilities Programme 2024-25 in November 2024. This transformative initiative, aims to empower more than 10 000 persons with disabilities in South Africa through tailored training programs, stipends, and other specialised tools.

This programme is implemented in partnership with the Department of Women, Youth and People with Disabilities, and the Department of Social Development through collaborative efforts to advance disability inclusion in the South African Human Resource Development Strategy.

Through our TVET colleges, government is increasing the production of artisans. This is part of the shift we are undertaking towards education and skills development that combines formal learning with job training. 

As part of government collaboration with social partners, during May 2024, I launched the South African National Service Initiative (SANSI) which is a joint initiative by the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and the South African National Defence Force. The initiative aims to empower young TVET and University graduates through a purposeful skills pipeline, fostering innovative entrepreneurship and long-term, sustainable employment through a purposeful and smooth pipeline.

Furthermore, the government is utilizing sector-specific Master Plans to promote inclusive economic growth and combat unemployment. The Department of Trade Industry and Competition (DTIC) is implementing seven Master Plans, with one recently launched, which utilize industrial policy tools to develop export capabilities, regain domestic market share, and create and sustain economic employment.

We reiterate the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the private sector to offer young people experiential learning opportunities while they undertake their studies as part of their commitment to a social compact of building skills for a transformed economy and society.

I thank you Honourable Chairperson.