WATER AND SANITATION: LATEST BLUE, GREEN AND ‘NO’ DROP REPORTS PUBLISHED

WATER AND SANITATION: LATEST BLUE, GREEN AND ‘NO’ DROP REPORTS PUBLISHED

• 06 December 2023
• Water & Sanitation
• SA Legal Academy

In a speech announcing the publication of his department’s latest blue, green and ‘no’ drop reports, Water & Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu said there are ‘limits to which national government support and intervention can address the decline in services’ and that ‘fundamental reform’ is required.

It is apparently with this in mind that the draft Water Services Amendment Bill was developed and released in November 2023 for public comment.

According to the Minister, the draft Bill’s overarching objective is to facilitate a move towards ‘more professionally managed, capable, efficient, and financially viable water services institutions’.

As SA Legal Academy reported when it was gazetted, among other things the draft Bill seeks to:

• address gaps in existing regulations on ‘safely managed sanitation’
• improve the quality of potable/drinking water
• improve ‘the accountability of water services providers’ by way of operating licence requirements
• make registration mandatory for persons installing and operating water service works, and
• strengthen water board governance.

Two departmental media statements were released with the blue, green and ‘no’ drop reports. One notes that:

• the blue drop report ‘provides an assessment of drinking water quality’
• the ‘no drop report’ focuses on water loss and non-revenue water across municipalities nationwide, and
• the green drop progress assessment report provides ‘an update on the performance of wastewater management systems at municipal level’.

In that context, the other statement provides details of South Africa’s best performing municipalities.

The green drop progress report follows last year’s publication of a full green drop report – apparently in keeping with the department’s monitoring and evaluation cycle. The full blue drop report follows last year’s progress report.

• draft Bill
• latest blue, green and ‘no’ drop reports
• Minister’s speech
• media statement on the latest reports
• media statement on the best performing municipalities

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

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