Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane launched water week in Port Elizabeth on Monday. The week is aimed at addressing South Africa’s water crisis by educating communities about the preservation of the natural resource.

The city has one of the highest volumes of water leaks with more than 30% of water amounting to R200 million a year being lost.
Opposition parties have lambasted the initiative.

DA mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay, Athol Trollip elaborates, “I don’t think the minister coming to launch water week in Nelson Mandela Bay is going to do anything we have had. We have had the president come before the 2014 elections and come and promise R460 million to the Nooidegedacht water support scheme. None of that has materialised.

“We had the President last year launch the war on leaks. Thousands of people were bussed across the country to a jamboree in Nelson Mandela Bay and nothing has happened. We still lose 42% of all of our water in Nelson Mandela Bay and launching one week after the next is not going to do anything.”

Meanwhile, the two-day Eastern Cape Tripartite Alliance summit is currently underway in East London in the Eastern Cape. President Jacob Zuma, Treasurer General Zweli Mkhize and Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte have attended the meeting.

Addressing journalists ahead of the start of the summit, Duarte says the delegates will deliberate on a number of issues including drought and education.

“We are hoping that people will raise whatever they want to raise, but the summit will discuss a lot of issues including the drought and so on and discussing our joint working programmes of action.”

–SABC Digital News