April 5, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
FRANCE is committed to supporting Operation Gcin'amanzi, a Joburg Water project aimed at replacing leaking water pipes and ageing infrastructure in Soweto, over the next five years.
These were the words of the French minister for co-operation and development, Brigitte Girardin, during a site visit of the project in Chiawelo on Monday, 3 April. Girardin said French co-operation in the areas of sanitation and road infrastructure in developing countries was a priority.
"The City of Johannesburg can rest assured that France is committed to improving the lives of the city's residents. What we have seen of the project developments thus far is satisfactory and we should persevere in this direction of active co-operation."
The meeting between the French delegation and Joburg Water officials was part of efforts to develop closer ties with the French embassy concerning improving service delivery in Johannesburg.
In January the City's treasury department announced a loan of R320-million from France's Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD), to be used by Johannesburg Water to complete the installation of water meters in Soweto as part of Operation Gcin'amanzi.
The French visitors are entertained by the Johannesburg Water choir
Giving an overview of the project, the managing director of Joburg Water, Gerald Dumas, said the R450-million programme was aimed at reducing unaccounted for water loss, which cost the City about R20-million a month.
"Water infrastructure in Soweto is about 100 years old and the project endeavours to replace all ageing water pipes - which are the main cause of loss of water. The project [also] aims to install 170 000 prepaid water meters in the township's households."
This would lead to savings of up to R158-million a year as well as drastically reducing households' water and sanitation bills, Dumas explained.
Already much has been done to solve pressing water service delivery issues. After the establishment of the utility in 2001, Joburg Water signed a management contract with a specialist water and sanitation management consortium led by the French-based Ondeo Services, to place a 12-member technical assistance team in the utility.
The launch of Operation Gcin'amanzi in September 2003 had also benefited the residents of Soweto, Dumas said. It had created 1 600 jobs in Soweto, reduced water bills by about R100 a household and created about R26-million worth of business related to Joburg Water's operations in the township.
After a short presentation on the utility's history and Operation Gcin'amanzi, Girardin was taken on a tour of Chiawelo to inspect some of the work being done.
Lizzy Chauke, a sub-contractor to Joburg Water responsible for installing prepaid water meters, took the minister through the process of installing water-saving flashing systems and piping. At the end of the tour Girardin said she was "very impressed" with the operation.
"We hope to make further contacts the next time we visit the city to establish areas where we can strike partnerships in development service delivery projects."
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
