I was elated to read an article published in the Advertiser on the War on Leaks programme, on July 22.
However, I don’t know if the programme is just for publicity or is our city/province/country serious about saving water?
There are water leaks everywhere we drive in Boksburg. The problem when one tries to report it, to whom do we report it?
I tried calling council and I am then told that before they can open a job card they need an account number.
It seems, therefore, that we need to make the public aware of a water hotline, if one exists.
I live in Parkrand and walk my dogs in the evening. There is a water leak which has been running down the street for months.
I work in Alrode South, Alberton – there are two major leaks there. The one is so bad that the newly resurfaced tarred roads are full of potholes within a few months.
We are being asked to collect and fill bottles of water and drop them off at the Parkrand centre to be taken to Kroonstad for drought relief. However, if more leaks were plugged more water would be available to places where it is needed the most.
* Hosia Sithole, assistant director at the Department of Water and Sanitation (Gauteng), writes the following on the programme:
The government’s efforts to curb water losses through leaking taps should be received with enthusiasm, as it deals decisively with both the conservation of water resources and the intractable challenge of youth employment.
The water leaks issue is a serious challenge in society, and we are hoping that the intake of young people trained to be water agents, plumbers and artisans will decrease the high rate of water leaks.
The government’s valiant efforts, through the Department of Water and Sanitation, in dealing with the twin challenges of water losses and youth unemployment are truly a good means to drag the country out of these difficulties that continue to stoke the fires of disaffection in our communities.
Being sensitive to the untapped potential of young people in the community, the department is assisting the youth to improve their self-esteem, pushing to integrate them into the mainstream economy that desperately needs their participation.
The fact that the youth should be at the forefront of the creation of sustainable small and micro-enterprises is essential to both economic growth and the future of socio-political sustainability can never be more emphasised.
It is for this reason that the youth should meet the government halfway.
This is said from the backdrop of a litany of examples where some of our youths have not taken advantage of opportunities made available to them, or they simply drop out of training programmes before completing them.
It goes without saying that the youth who make the cut in programmes like these should be willing to put in an extra effort for both their personal development and that of their communities.
It, however, warms the cockles of one’s heart to learn that there are many youths in different sectors who are now successful in their chosen career paths.
Having had minimal opportunities available to them, the youths who train under the War on Leaks programme will be able to branch out on their own to start their own businesses as a result of the skills they would have acquired in the programme.
It is, therefore, crucial that all sector partners up their ante in terms of communication between different stakeholders, so that trainees better understand the aim behind the programme.
Already there are exceedingly high water losses, which cost the county a hefty price tag of more than R7-billion per annum through leaking taps and illegal connections.
Through this different approach by this programme, the Department of Water and Sanitation is on the right trajectory to notch up sterling results in the future.
