THE Democratic Alliance is disappointed by Mike Mabuyakhulu’s, (MEC of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs), refusal to answer parliamentary questions regarding the province’s parlous state of water security, instead claiming that the issue does not fall under his jurisdiction.
The questions relate to bulk water suppliers within municipalities, water maintenance and quality, current municipal blue and green drop report cards and risk management protocols.
Ann McDonnell, MPL DA KZN spokesperson on Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, said that while water supply – or lack thereof – is a national competency, and the impact here in KZN is massive.
The daily struggle for communities which do not have a reliable water service must be taken seriously, not least by the KZN Department of Environmental Affairs which falls under MEC Mabuyakhulu. The same applies equally to KZN’s COGTA department.
Ms McDonnell said a several months ago KZN citizens were told that a multi-discipline task team had been appointed to deal with the growing water crises in the province, yet they are still to see any evidence of this.
“Water is essential to life and many issues including pollution from broken sewer infrastructure, evaporation loss, theft and broken pipes are threatening our very scarce resources,” she said.
Add to this the ‘silo mentality’ witnessed in MEC Mabuyakhulu’s reply and the problem becomes even more critical.
“The DA calls on MEC Mabuyakhulu and other members of the ANC-led KZN executive to ensure that information around the task team’s work to date is made available to the citizens of our province in the interests of transparency and accountability,” she said.
