FREESTATE – The Department of Water and Sanitation consulted its stakeholders on National Water Resource Strategy 3 (NWRS3) on Friday, 09 September 2022 at Bloem Spa Hotel in Bloemfontein.
Among attendees were Water Services Authorities (WSAs), the South African Local Government Association, and Bloemwater and Water Services Providers (WSP).
The key focus of the NWRS-3 is to ensure equitable and sustainable access to and use of water by all South Africans while sustaining the water resource.
The Cabinet approved the National Water Resource Strategy 3 for gazetting and public consultation.
The NWRS 3 workshop broke into four commissions deliberating on issues of increasing water supply for the country, redistributing water for transformation, building capacity for action, and managing water and sanitation under Climate Change conditions.
Workshop attendees forwarded inputs on NWRS 3 that need to be considered; issues of having improved governance from municipalities pertaining to water and sanitation. Inclusivity of private sectors in the water business and improved security of water and sanitation infrastructure to prohibit vandalism.
The outcomes of the first NWRS 3 consultative workshop promise to ensure that water and sanitation serve as enablers for inclusive economic and social well-being, more so as the sector is identified as critical to the country’s economic recovery.
