The lack of sufficient capacity at local government level was identified as a significant constraint to the country’s water sector, National Planning Commission member and former director-general at the Department of Water Affairs (DWA), Professor Mike Muller, said on Thursday.

Speaking at an ABSA workshop focusing on the private sector’s participation in water and sanitation services, he urged the private enterprises to consider innovations within this space to help develop capacity and enable greater participation in the sector.

DWA deputy director of planning frameworks Stephen Marais acknowledged the constraints, but said that local government was not responsible for the backlog in enabling access to water for all South Africans.

“What remains a challenge, is for local government to adequately use all its resources to serve people and to drive internal efficiencies,” Marais explained.

Despite the DWA having strict and fixed programmes in place to help support local government and to help make the “business of water” work, planning within the water and sanitation sector would remain difficult if local government remained as is, Marais said.

While capacity and skills were available at national government level to facilitate planning, when it filtered to local government, he believed municipalities could not take ownership of a project or institutionally carry out a project.

“There is a moral commitment to providing water for all and one has to address this challenge immediately, particularly in rural areas,” he said.

However, Marais said it was also necessary to acknowledge the improvements in creating access to water, as 97% of South Africans had access to water. “But, the remaining three percent without access is still a lot of people, particularly in remote areas.”

ABSA public-private partnership financing specialist Andre Kruger said it was important to increase the level of participation of the private sector in the country’s water sector.

“It is imperative that an attractive market and an enabling environment are created to secure investment and develop sustainable partnerships,” Kruger told Engineering News Online.