(Bloomberg) — South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved a law to create a new agency that will develop and manage the country’s water infrastructure and raise funding for new projects.
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The law establishes the National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency (SOC Ltd.), which “will enable South Africa to expand water infrastructure and improve the management of existing water resources to ensure water security over the next decade,” the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.
The aim is also to address the current fragmentation in water resources management between the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Water Trading Entity and the Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, the presidency said.
Africa’s most industrialized country suffers from frequent water outages due to dilapidated infrastructure and poorly maintained water supply systems, caused by a lack of planning for population growth, mismanagement, corruption and political infighting. Johannesburg Water Management Ltd., which distributes water in the city, loses 44 percent of the volume it receives due to leaks and theft.
The replacement value of South Africa’s national water resources currently stands at between R200 billion ($11 billion) and R300 billion, Sean Phillips, director-general of the Department of Water and Sanitation, told Bloomberg in an interview in March.
The new legislation is part of reforms “aimed at increasing investment in the maintenance and construction of water infrastructure and improving water quality,” the presidency said.
–With assistance from Antony Sguazzin.
(Updates with plan to address fragmentation in third paragraph, replacement value in fifth)
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