The Department of Water and Sanitation has officially signed off on Phase 2 of the Blue Deal Programme between South Africa and Netherlands, which seeks to enhance access to sufficient, clean and safe water for all by 2030 and beyond.

The Blue Deal Programme is a collaboration and partnership between the Netherlands Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Infrastructure and Water Management and all the Dutch water authorities to support local and national governments worldwide.

In the South African context, water institutions work together with the Dutch Water Authorities with an aim of specifically contributing to clean and sufficient drinking water.

The signing of the partnership commitment between the two parties took place during the Blue Deal Conference, held in Johannesburg recently. The conference aimed to support water management worldwide by exchanging knowledge and experiences in the water sector, while expanding its footprint.

Speaking at the conference, Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister David Mahlobo expressed his appreciation for the Dutch Water Authorities for their collaborative efforts with the department to ensure water security.

“South Africa welcomes the exchange of views, identification of mutual interests, ensuring involvement of stakeholders and linking up ideas across institutional boundaries through the programme,” Mahlobo said.

He commended the exchange of knowledge between the two parties, which is focused on the improvement of water governance, climate resilience and social inclusion.

“I am informed that the Blue Deal South Africa Partnership wants to take the next step in the development of water management, I am impressed that the learning component will bridge and interconnect with water colleagues and other domains to catalyse the change that is rapidly needed,” he said.

Head of Blue Deal Worldwide, Hein Pieper, emphasised the need to ensure effective and collaborative implementation of the programme.

“We need to continue working collaboratively for the programme to yield positive results. The Blue Deal Programme is a big deal, and we need to treat it as such,” Pieper said.

Source: South African Government News Agency