The importance of securing our water supply while maintaining infrastructure

Understandably, this being the year of South Africa’s G20 Presidency and the Business 20 (B20) forming part of it, there has been added commitments to achieving tangible outcomes across business and the public sector. These multilateral seats not only add to usual output, they offer us a global stage to demonstrate our unique convening power as a country and continent.  

Indeed, the formal launch of the B20 in February followed other successful engagements where Team SA was well represented including the annual World Economic Forum in Davos and Mining Indaba in Cape Town. These set-piece conferences foreshadowed the national Budget tabling. Over and above the main purpose of these gatherings, they also offer a viable platform for cross-sectoral engagement and deal-making to support national and business priorities. They also provide us with the opportunity to demonstrate why South Africa has the most advanced and diversified economy in the continent.  

Whilst these conferences create a platform for us to proactively advance initiatives that benefit the country and continent, we are not only forward looking but also capable of reflecting and solutioning where there are challenges. In this spirit, most recently, the government hosted the National Water and Sanitation Indaba. This gathering which brought together various stakeholders across sectors sought to obtain consensus on delivery and implementation models to address the challenges afflicting water security in and across the country.

According to the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation, South Africa is a water-scarce country with an average rainfall of 465 mm, half the world average, and a very high evaporation rate. In addition, approximately 75% of SA’s exploitable surface water resources is already being used. The World Economic Forum cited access to water as the third biggest risk of doing business in South Africa, according to the World Economic Forum.

The impact of water management is not only a household challenge, it is pernicious to businesses. As President Ramaphosa noted at the indaba, “water stewardship, namely its management and equitable distribution, is a national priority and as a country we can be proud of the progress we have made in fulfilling this basic right of our people since the advent of democracy”. 

The recent indaba concluded with resolutions for actions which we believe can help address some of the challenges. Among the notable resolutions are:

• The full establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency by mid-2026.
• DWS to finalise Water Services Act amendments and table to Parliament by May 2025 and put in place an operating licensing system for Water Services Providers by June 2026.
• DWS to establish an independent economic water regulator to regulate water prices across the water value chain, within three years.
• DWS and the Water Partnerships Office to develop Green and Blue Bond financing mechanisms with the private sector, for implementation by Catchment Management Agencies and water service authorities, starting immediately. 
• DWS, the Water Boards and WSAs to increase their collaboration with the Infrastructure Fund to put in place more blended finance water projects, over the next three years.

Through the course of our work, as the biggest bank in Africa by assets, we have interdependencies and reliance that enable us to drive the work of growing the country and continent’s economic development. What is good for our jurisdictions is invariably good for us. These include and involve working with partners in both the private and public sector. 

The challenges we face are daunting, but they are not insurmountable. Water security is a non-negotiable which we should all be brought into solving. The recent indaba taken in conjunction with our efforts on global stages prove that we, as a country and continent, have the track-record and capacity to address seemingly unbeatable odds. I am a natural optimist and take heart from former President Nelson Mandela’s quote “it always seems impossible until it is done”. Let us work to start on the “impossible”.

Prepared by:
By Zen Dlamini, Head Infrastructure & Public Sector Client Coverage, CIB, Standard Bank