Billions needed to save water supply, sanitation in province

The national department of water and sanitation needs R115-billion to supply water and sanitation to the people of the Eastern Cape up to 2035.

The amount includes R95-billion to ensure smooth operation of the water supply system, and R19.1-billion for sanitation provision.

This is while the department also needs R66.5-billion a year for water services projects already in the pipeline, with R48-billion of that required for water services and R18.5-billion for sanitation.

This was revealed yesterday by the department’s provincial head Portia Makhanya, when she presented the province’s draft water and sanitation infrastructure master plan at their provincial office in King William’s Town.

Makhanya said it would take the department at least 11 years to deal with the water services projects backlog, as the annual allocation of R5.6-billion in infrastructure grants was not enough to fast-track the backlog.

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