​Thembisa Shologu
President Cyril Ramaphosa commended the Department of Water and Sanitation for its ongoing efforts to address water security in the country. 
He was speaking at the Water and Satination Water Indaba at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand on Thursday. 
The two-day Indaba underscores the government's ongoing commitment to tackling South Africa's water security challenges and ensuring reliable and sustainable water and sanitation services for all citizens.
Addressing the Indaba President Ramaphosa said South Africa ranked among 25 extremely water-stressed countries, using over 80 percent of its water supply to meet domestic needs.
Ramaphosa said the country is still far from achieving clean water and sanitation for all, as encapsulated in Sustainable Development Goal 6.
"We have several other water infrastructure projects earmarked for blended financing through the Infrastructure Fund, such as the Polihali Dam that will feed 490 million cubic meters of water a year from the Lesotho Highlands into the Vaal River System.
"Whilst these long-term water infrastructures build projects will undoubtedly mitigate current supply challenges being experienced, we are keenly aware that security of supply is by no means our only challenge," said Ramaphosa.
He said that an urgent and high-level national turnaround plan on water security was needed to align with the Government of National Unity's Medium-Term Development Plan 2025 to 2029 and harness the sector's reform momentum.
Ramaphosa noted that financial mismanagement, insufficient revenue collection systems, and high physical water losses compounded existing service delivery problems at the local government level.
"Last year's Water Summit identified ageing and poorly-maintained infrastructure, vandalism of water infrastructure, illegal connections, and organised crime in the water sector as some of the challenges facing service delivery in this sector. 
At the local government level, Ramaphosa explained that financial mismanagement, insufficient revenue collection systems, and high physical water losses compound existing service delivery problems. 
He added that these challenges have been consistently reflected in reports of the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment, Stats SA, the Auditor-General, and others. 
Ramaphosa said the World Resources Institute estimated that sub-Saharan Africa would experience the most significant change in water demand between now and 2050.
As part of the structural reform process in the water sector, Ramaphosa said government has significantly reduced the turnaround time for issuing water use licenses. 
In addition, the government published the Raw Water Pricing Strategy last year to promote efficient water management, following a process initiated in 2022 under Operation Vulindlela.
"Currently, 75 percent of applications are processed within 90 days. An additional 110 technical and scientific staff have been hired to support further process improvements.
"By next year, we hope to finalise the establishment of the National Water Resource Infrastructure Agency, one of the most significant reforms in the sector to date," adding that this agency will bring strategic alignment, consistency and accountability to the various institutional arrangements for water stewardship that have proven to be less than ideal. 
Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina warned that this country would run dry if water weren't managed properly. 
Minister Majodina attributed water challenges to damaged infrastructure,
"We fully understand our history and backlog of service delivery and the decaying water infrastructure, but that doesn't mean that people must not get water. The challenge now is that our people do not have water.
"Municipalities are supposed to build water reservoirs to connect from the water treatment plants to their reservoirs, and that water must reach every citizen in the country," said Majodina.
She warned those committing fraud and criminal activities would be brought to book. 
"We are working very closely with SIU. We have recovered R459 million fraudulently obtained from the Department of Water and Sanitation. 
"Organised criminality, we are on our way; we are coming to you. Water tinkering, extortion mafias, vandalism of public infrastructure, especially the water infrastructure, must be treated as a crime because that is sabotage and nothing else," she said.  
Majodina called on all Mayors to act against illegal connections.
She further discouraged the use of water tankers and said they were working on closing this gate of tendering. 
With regards to water boards, Majodina said the water supplied must be of high quality. 
"Water users owe these water boards R24 billion. If we continue like that, the danger is that the water boards will collapse. If they do, it means no water is going to be purified, no water will come as bulk supply to municipalities, and that will affect all municipalities," said Majodina.