Pretoria: The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), in partnership with the Dutch Water Authorities, convened a Blue Deal Steering Committee meeting to focus on the Blue Deal South Africa Programme, which targets enhancements in water management and access to clean water across South Africa.
According to South African Government News Agency, the meeting, held in Pretoria, aimed to facilitate an enabling environment for future Blue Deal partnerships, discuss lessons from various projects, and provide strategic direction to address key bottlenecks in water management.
The Blue Deal Programme is a joint effort between South Africa and the Netherlands to improve water management by sharing knowledge and experiences, supporting national, regional, and local organizations, and collaborating with essential stakeholders. The programme specifically aims to contribute to clean and sufficient water supplies.
During the meeting, the Crocodile River Revitalisation Action Plan and the Theewaterskloof Project Non-Sew
er Sanitation pilot project were key topics of discussion. The Crocodile River faces pollution threats from agriculture, industry, and municipalities, with inadequate performance of wastewater treatment plants in the area. The challenge is to enhance the operation of municipal wastewater systems to improve water quality in the river.
The Theewaterskloof project aims to reduce pollution by improving sanitation and solid waste management through innovative solutions like non-sewered sanitation and utilizing the circular economy. General discussions also covered the status of ongoing projects, a recap of 2024 Blue Deal activities, the outlook for 2025 projects, and developments in international collaborations.
DWS Director of International Relations, Albert Mmbidi, emphasized the importance of the meeting, noting the review of the project’s progress, challenges, and proposed solutions. Mmbidi expressed confidence that the proposed solutions will enable the programme to run efficiently and strengthen the relati
onship between the two countries.