The European Union (EU) has pledged R1.3 billion (€107 million) in support of a South African government programme which will harness the concept of water for growth and development.
The third phase of the Masibambane Programme will benefit from a R1.2 billion (€102 million) grant to be used for programme initiatives under the overarching theme of “Water for growth and Development”. R61 million (€5 million) will be used in funding international technical support.
Masibambane was first developed in 2001. Some of its achievements include the deployment of skilled professionals at municipal level to support local government, as well as service delivery interventions that take issues such as gender and the environment into consideration.
The EU has contributed R1.5 billion to the programme since its inception.
Speaking at the third National Water Summit taking place in Midrand this week, Water Affairs and Forestry Minister Lindiwe Hendricks highlighted the key role water plays in supporting economic growth.
“It is not only having access to clean water and decent sanitation that will contribute to growth and development, but also involving communities in provision of some of the goods and services required by the water sector such as brick making.”
“We also see that through access to water a number of new enterprises and small scale agricultural activities become possible” she said.
EU ambassador to South Africa Lodewijk Briet praised the South African government for their work in developing institutions and policies essential to democracy. "The government has developed policies to improve the quality of life of the masses and have initiated countless programmes to aggressively address poverty," he said.
Echoing President Thabo Mbeki’s State of the Nation address earlier this year, Briet added; "With the comprehensive policy framework established, now is the time to intensify the implementation. We support President Thabo Mbeki's call for Business Unusual.”
Under the theme ‘Water: Sustaining lives, enabling growth’, South Africa’s third national water summit will close on Sunday 23 March. In her opening address Hendricks assured delegates that water issues that have raised concerns in the past months are being addressed.
“While there is no water crisis as such and we have plans in place, I made it very clear [to Parliament] that there are serious issues that need to be addressed to ensure that we do not face a crisis in the future,” she said.
Source: BuaNews / SAGN
Steuart has done some 500 talks on South Africa's progress since 1994 and SA's prospects for the future' 
