Imtiaz Sooliman – World Water Week from Gift of the Givers on water challenges in SA
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The International Union foreneas has warned South countries to invest in nature and mitigate drought-related risks, citing the negative impacts on agricultural sector, businesses, schools, and universities. The speakers discuss various challenges faced by communities affected by the drought, including lack of water, man-made problems, and poor agricultural output. They suggest addressing man-made issues and finding a solution quickly, while also acknowledging the crisis of man-made problems and the need for a fast solution.
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature is urging
South Africa as well as other drought prone countries, to invest
in nature based solutions to mitigate drought related risks.
This comes as drought related risks are increasing worldwide due
to climate change and demographic developments leading to poverty,
food shortages and lack of access to clean and sufficient drinking
water for vulnerable communities. Nature based solutions was thrust
into the spotlight during World Water Week, which is currently
under way in Stockholm, Sweden. Meanwhile, aid organizations have
been supplying water in some parts of South Africa struggling to
access clean drinking water. Gift of the givers has been at the core
of aid and ground stricken areas like the Nelson Mandela Bay and
areas hit by natural disasters like some parts of KwaZulu Natal
let's take this discussion further then. We're not joined via zoom by
Doctor amija suderman from gift of the givers, always a pleasure to
have you on the show. Very good afternoon to you.
Good afternoon. Thank you very much. You're working on the ground
and have been, you know, providing water to to areas that have been
struggling with access to water. Let's talk about how real the
situation of drought really is in the country and and and what your
experience has been as a gift of the big the givers, I'm sure. You
know, being as close to the ground as you are, you have more insight
for us.
It's a huge problem. This problem has started more around 2015 2016
if you look at this part of the Northwest, it then it ran into the
southern cape, the fires of nice now, 2017 June. One of the reasons
those fires are so big is because of the drought in the situation
and people, if things went very quickly, and also there was not
enough water to put things to fire off very quickly. At the same
time, the drought affected
economy from 2017
up to 2022 January, the ship count, the Merino sheep count,
which is a prized ship in the southern area, dropped from
440,000
to 31,000 it decimated farmers, the income, the loss of jobs with
farm workers. But this is all drought related, which had a
massive impact on the economy. And because of that, even places like
Makanda university student numbers started dropping, and many shops
and even franchises within the city itself dropped or closed, and
again, job losses were directly to the drought itself. Yeah, when
there was no water, people don't the guest the toilets didn't come.
Guest houses are not busy. And then many it was just a knock on
effect. Yeah, covid, 19, yes, sorry, sorry to come in there.
But, you know, speaking of the knock on effects, and I'm glad
you're talking about these direct links to other issues. Often when
dealing with with water shortages, you know, we're also then dealing
with other challenges that are coming on the back of that. And
especially these are communities that really could, you know, could
do better. You know, we could do better for them. Let's talk about,
you know, the contributing factors, you know, some of the
things that are also then affected. I mean, I understand
that even service delivery then becomes a problem leading from
that.
Yes, of course, lots of things will flow from that. No, then
that's, of course. On the one side, you have a lack of water
because of a drought itself. Secondly, you have a man made
problem where there's lack of maintenance in dams,
infrastructure pipes. The third prompt is that even though the
infrastructure pipes is there, it doesn't go to all the areas and
and then, of course, there's a huge population increase which
cannot cater for for that the water cannot cater for that
increase in population. So in terms of, you know, for the man
made problem, we are way behind on our maintenance we're putting
in.
All that's an additional issue that affects the drought itself.
So the one side spoke to you about sheep. Secondly, I spoke to you
about fire. Thirdly, that what was affected badly was the hospitals
during covid 19, and a lot of hospitals, we said, sanitize, wash
your hands weekly, and disinfected. But he couldn't do
that because there was no water, you know, and the only way to deal
with that, in the absence of rain, in absence of dams being full, in
absence of desalination, the only adoption was balls. And of course,
many, we drilled many balls, actually in Sutherland to save the
ship. We drilled 238 balls in Makanda in the crisis. We drilled
15. We put 11 in crafting it in the club plant also.
Let's talk about another aspect. When there's no water in schools,
the principals tell you, you know what we can still do without
drinking, but if the toilets don't function, we can't keep our
children at school. There's 1000 children here. There's 900
children here. What do we do? We can't keep them here when there's
no ablution facilities, so we need to send them home. You've lost so
much of time already during covid itself. And the same thing applies
to universities. Now. There's another effect. In the last few
weeks, there's the nematocystic municipality, there are strikes.
It's no there's no water. The water is flowing, but now, because
of the spec, the water can't come. The water is there, but it can't
be delivered. And 10,000 students.
Have been affected in forte University, many getting
dehydrated, many getting sick, you know, many having all kinds of
ailments because there's no water. So all these kind of knockout
effects come either from manmade crisis or from the drought itself.
Yeah, yeah. And, and, I mean, I want us to talk about, you raise
the issue of some man made issues, and I think that's the first place
where we can address the issues. I mean, we certainly can't do much
when nature decides to be cruel, but where we're having a situation
where the problem is man made. I mean, I was speaking to the MEC
last week from KZN, where they were, you know, complaining about
the protests, about a lack of water. And, you know, he was
blaming nature and not really reflecting on the issue of man
made problems. And maybe you can go into that for us about some,
some of the problems that are actually man made problems.
No, no, yes, nature is part of it. It's not, it's not the reason
that's an easy way to escape. You know,
look for right now in Pine town, and man in here, and parts of arms
into drilling boats where there was no crisis, there was no water.
Even before the floods came there, there was, there was no effort
made to look at different communities and put in pipelines.
It just wasn't there. And the pipelines that were there was so
poorly maintained, only maintained at all, that the whole system
broke down. You know,
for example, in Tonga, the entire plant is gone, or the entire area
gone. So it's, it's government has to take responsible huge problem
in in every government facility, there was just no follow up as as
as mandatory the finance minister, you're not going to go. Where was
the finance minister? Whenever new finance ministers come, they
should have a specific budget for maintenance and infrastructure, a
separate budget for that, for the whole country, controlled by the
Treasury. If that has to be done. This is no this is just putting so
much of pressure on people with patients say they can't people got
a water to drink, they can't buy their babies, they can't take
medication. So that's a huge problem. It's not only
infrastructure. It's not only drought related, it's
infrastructure related. And then the other, other very, very big
problem that we have in government is nobody takes responsibility.
You know, is it national national sales? There is they're not
responsible. Provincial says they're not responsible. Municipal
said they are not responsible. Who is responsible? Nobody takes
responsibility for the crisis. For now, let's go back to the crisis
in in KZN and in amateur district municipality. You know people on
strike for three weeks. Do you sit back and just don't do anything
about it? Or should all tears of government get together and say,
We need to find a solution rapidly. It's affecting the lives
of hundreds of 1000s of people in this area, in Eastern Cape, and
there's a total disconnect with all three tiers of government, and
they need to sit together to find a solution to how to deal
effectively and decisively. What crisis like this? Yeah. Alright.
Thanks, as always, for your time, your input, Doctor Suleman, we
appreciate your time here on sabc news.
Thank you. Alright, that is Dr mija Suleiman from gift of the
givers.