Greenpeace Africa has launched a petition calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to put water at the centre of all government decision-making, after it emerged that the Department Water and Sanitation had run up R6.4bn in irregular expenditure.

A Cape Argus report notes the AG reported to Parliament this week that irregular expenditure at the department had rocketed from R4bn to R6.4bn.

Greenpeace Africa’s Melita Steele said: ‘In the face of devastating water scarcity and one of the worst droughts in living memory, it can no longer be one department’s responsibility to ensure that water is adequately managed in SA.’

Steele added that Greenpeace Africa believed water was a fundamental human right and one which people could not live without. ‘This is why we have launched a petition calling on President Ramaphosa to clearly prioritise water as a human right. We are asking the President to lead a process where administrative and policy steps are taken that will mandate government departments, agencies and entities to place water at the centre of all their decision-making processes. We need to radically rethink our relationship to and management of water. Water as a fundamental human right must become more than just rhetoric.’

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