Featured
Mendy Shozi: Water’s Importance Cannot Be Overstated
Water is scarce, wasted, and taken for granted. It is also a vital source of life and dignity. Mendy Shozi, President of the South Africa Youth Parliament for Water and project manager at Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association, is in her words “water...
Featured
Navigating Resistance: Overcoming Barriers to Regulatory Reform in South Africa’s Water Sector
Introducing new regulations often meets with resistance, and the water sector in South Africa is no exception. Regulation 3630 is an example and stems from various sources, including institutional inertia, stakeholder interests, and socio-economic factors....
Featured
Making Every Drop Count In Gqeberha
Droughts are not new to Gqeberha (formerly called Port Elizabeth). Located in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, Gqeberha experiences a semi-arid climate with erratic rainfall, making it prone to periodic water scarcity. This has inspired a unique partnership...
Featured
Reducing Risk and Building Trust with Bureau Veritas
A world leader in testing, inspection and certification services, Bureau Veritas operates in agri-food, industry, commodities as well as building and infrastructure markets. Water is a critical resource across all these sectors, and as its quality declines, water...
Latest News
In with the new: Pemmy Majodina
The new Minister of Water and Sanitation Pemmy Majodina has big shoes to fill, and a tough road ahead. After four years of tackling the issues of the water sector head on, Senzo Mchunu moves to the position of Minister of Police. This does come at...
Water-scarce SA needs sustainable farming practices
With South Africa being a water-scarce country, widespread adoption of climate-smart farming practices requires concerted efforts to educate and support farmers, particularly small-scale producers, says SRK Consulting. Over 60% of water use in the...
Mineral Council gives full support to Mantashe
The Minerals Council of South Africa has reaffirmed its commitment to work alongside Minister Gwede Mantashe to unlock the full potential of the mining industry. The recent reappointment of Mantashe as the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum...
Good news: Cape Town’s electricity meter software upgrade programme nears completion
‘By December 2024, all prepaid electricity meters in the country must be updated or customers will not be able to recharge their units via their meters. The City of Cape Town’s prepaid meter update programme has been carried out...
Powering South Africa’s solar ambitions: Scatec’s Sazi Ramoekipa
Over the coming years, Africa’s growing renewable energy industries are expected to reduce imports, create jobs, and build the local capital base. The International Energy Agency estimates that around 4 million additional energy-related jobs are...
Randwater maintenance: an update
Randwater maintenance has kicked off in Johannesburg, Tswane, and Ekuhurleni, this planned maintenance project is a necessary step in both keeping up with demand and planning for the future. By Duncan Nortier While the planned maintenance comes...
Sustainability
Moving towards net zero carbon construction in Africa
Though the mining and power sectors tend to take up much of the spotlight around carbon emission reduction strategies in Africa, construction sectors must not be overlooked in the drive towards achieving Net-Zero. WSP in Africa Property &...
Promising indicators for plastics recycling sector growth
With the introduction of the extended-producer responsibility (EPR) regulations, a wider industry adoption of recyclate replacing raw materials, and several voluntary agreements that promote material circularity, all eyes are on the South African...
Municipal microgrids promote clean energy and autonomy
For South African municipalities, microgrids present a strong business case in terms of power security and sustained supply, especially for critical infrastructure during downtime on the national grid. By Shireen Sayed The latest update to the...
Concor at the forefront of ‘green’ construction
When it comes to caring for the environment, there can be few contractors around with the track record of Concor, which has shown its commitment to ‘green’ construction on scores of building, construction, and civil engineering projects. Some of...
The one thing the construction industry needs right now
Already in the depths of a severe slump before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, South Africa’s embattled construction industry is in desperate need of a boost. Databuild CEO Morag Evans believes this will come from projects based on renewable...
Sponsored Content
Zutari debates the challenges of sustainable development
Sustainable development must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. “How do we ensure that the infrastructure we invest in is delivered in the correct manner so as to generate...
Industry News
Lesotho water project to boosts local construction industry
The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) has awarded the tender for the construction of the Polihali Operations Centre, a critical component of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project’s (LHWP) advance infrastructure, to L&M,...
Building costs fail to keep up with rising input costs
During the fourth quarter of 2021, annual growth in tender prices, as measured by the BER Building Cost Index (BCI), accelerated by a revised 5.9%. Preliminary data for 2022Q1, however, shows a marked slowdown in the BER BCI. “Growth in tender...
Landmark licencing of private electricity trader set to transform SA energy
A new South African private electricity trading company is set to transform the country’s power market after recently being awarded a landmark licence that allows it to transport energy from independent power producers (IPPs) to private end-users...
Water
Metro News
Garob wind farm ready for commercial operation
Garob wind farm, which is located near the remote Northern Cape town of Copperton in the Siyathemba Local Municipality, will be able to generate 573 GWh every year, potentially preventing the emission of approximately 600,000 tons of CO2 into...
An update on flooding in Western Cape catchments
The National Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) provides advisorys regarding floods in some catchments in the Western Cape. As of Saturday, 4 December 2021, the South African Weather Service (SAWS) issued a revised Impact Based Warning for...
Zutari assists metro to optimise revenue from service charges
Service charges from electricity, water, and sanitation are the main source of revenue for municipalities. When not managed properly, this can result in a downward spiral of reduced income and impaired service delivery. Leading consulting...
Waste
Engineering
Rising demand for warehousing bodes well for construction industry
The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented boom in online trading which, according to Databuild CEO Morag Evans, bodes well for the construction industry, especially as far as the future of warehousing is concerned. Global...
Future uncertain as consulting engineers stand ready to serve
Finding solutions to momentous social, economic, and environmental challenges in South Africa today demands – more than ever – the expertise of consulting engineers, but can the sector remain up to the task? The question is a real one, according to...
Construction industry has stellar health and safety compliance rate
Tibor Szana, Inspector General: Department of Employment and Labour, says that the construction industry has a “mindblowing” compliance rate of 76% when it comes to health and safety and ranked in the top five sectors in relation to compliance....
Technology
Read our Magazines
Digital Magazines
Water & Sanitation Africa
The official magazine of the Water Institute of Southern Africa (WISA), the magazine publishes content dealing with the supply, governance, financing, treatment and measurement of water and sanitation in southern Africa.