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Cape Town - At least R23bn is needed to overhaul the way municipalities manage and treat waste water, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs Buyelwa Sonjica said on Thursday.
Sonjica released her department's Green Drop Report - a survey of sanitation and treatment works around the country - and said she had already approached Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan about funds needed for the overhaul.
She also said the R23bn figure was based on the 449 treatment plants the department had been able to assess. More than 400 other plants did not make themselves available for the survey.
The Green Drop Report showed that only 7% of the 449 treatment plants assessed were "excellently" managed. These include Mbombela municipality, Ethekwini Metro, City of Tshwane, City of Cape Town, City of Johannesburg and the George municipality.
Only 38% of the municipalities assessed performed within "acceptable" standards and 55% gave cause for "concern", scoring below 50%.
Sonjica said her department and treasury are calculating how much it will cost to revamp all of South Africa's more than 800 treatment plants, assuming the municipalities that did not take part in the survey would not be considered as having "excellent" or "acceptable" plants.
The report also implied millions of litres of untreated or inadequately treated sewage are being pumped into South Africa's rivers and streams, mainly by small towns.
"It was found that most facilities in the rural areas and smaller towns are not adequately equipped with staff or appropriate skills and this constrained the performance of these systems," the report read.
Two municipalities – Madibeng in North West province and Machabee municipality in the Free State – have been charged for contravention of water legislation, and a further 400 directives have been issued to other non-compliant municipalities.
- Fin24.com
