Water expert, Professor Anthony Turton has suggested a public-private participation model to help turn the country’s water supply into an enabler of economic growth.
Scientists say around R1 trillion is required to recapitalise the water sector.
Turton says changes to the sector can help to stimulate economic growth and development.
“The reality is that with our current legislation, the National Water Act, that mandated certain environmental reserves in the rivers – is an unworkable act. We are simply unable to get the kind of economic growth and development that we require out of the act. We require approximately R1 trillion just to fix what is broken. The question is how are we going to get that R1 trillion into the water sector which ultimately comes down to a public-private participation model going forward. This is what we need to think about now – water as an economic enabler,” says Turton.
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