Note to Editors: Please find attached a soundbite by Leon Basson MP.
The DA welcomes the separation of the Ministry of Water and Sanitation from the Ministry of Human Settlements, and the axing of Minister Lindiwe Sisulu from the Department of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation as she has been wholly ineffective and did all she could to avoid being held to account.
The DA calls on the new Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, to appoint a director-general as a matter of urgency as this post – critical in ensuring the optimal functioning of the Department and assisting government in its efforts to revive the economy by ensuring water security for all – has been vacant for more than 5 years.
We also urge Minister Mchunu to fully support the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) investigation into the alleged irregularities in the Department awarding four tenders to the technology group EOH.
Given the enormity of South Africa’s water challenges and the fact that water management goes beyond human settlements, the DA has long known that these challenges would be better handled by two sets of expertise which is why we appointed two Shadow Ministers for those portfolios.
Water is our country’s most critical natural resource. Water security is fundamental to the lives and health of our people, to the stability of our society and to the growth and sustainability of our economy, and the management and protection thereof has been criminally allowed to deteriorate to the detriment of South Africa and our people. The DA can only hope that Minister Mchunu rectifies the situation despite the great odds the previous Minister and the ANC government stacked against him.