Opening debate on his department's budget in the National Assembly yesterday, he said increased local government budgets meant more people could now enjoy this benefit.
One of government's key poverty objectives is the free provision of the first 6 000 l of water each month to all households.
Kasrils said 26-million South Africans currently received free basic water.
"Many more people will enjoy free basic water from the July 1 start of local government's financial year.
"Given the generous increase in the equitable share, I will name and shame municipalities that fail to implement free basic water," he said.
Kasrils reacted sharply to claims, made by certain academics before Parliament's water affairs portfolio committee earlier this year that water supplies to ten million South Africans have been cut off.
"In the three largest metros, in the first three months of this year, 53 400 households had been cut off, typically for a short time.
"If this is typical of all households with metered water connections, about 250 000 people would be cut off at any one time, including many who can pay but `forgot'.
"I am not happy with this number, but it is a far cry from the crisis that the phoney revolutionaries have tried to portray," he said.
The department's policy was clear.
"Where there are problems, the municipalities may restrict flow to the free basic water level, rather than cutting it off completely.
"But people who use more than their free basic allowance have to pay, and if they don't they will face restrictions," Kasrils said.
However, Sapa reports that Government's policy of providing free basic water to all households in South Africa is not being implemented as intended and the New National Party says it needs to be reviewed.
Speaking during debate on the water affairs and forestry budget debate in the National Assembly on yesterday, NNP MP Stan Simmons said there were a number of problems that prevented some municipalties from implementing the policy.
"I can summarise the problems being experienced by municipalities in general, and especially in the rural areas of our country, as to why they cannot implement the free basic potable water policy." These included,lack of capacity;lack of water resources;lack of measuring mechanisms, lack of skills and resources; poor or old dilapidated infrastructure; contours of the landscape; and, non-payment and cost recovery problems.
He said this summary was based on observations by a multi-party delegation from Parliament's water affairs portfolio committee during a recent visit to four provinces - Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Kwazulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
In contrast to the rural areas, most of the cities and big towns visited in the four provinces "experienced few problems in the delivering of the prescribed 6 000 l of clean potable water to its households", Simmons said.
According to government figures, over 60% of South African households have yet to be provided with a free basic water supply. – Sapa.
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