By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Minister of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), Pemmy Majodina led a meeting with the World Bank on the Preparatory Meeting for the African Union-Africa Water Investment Programme (AU-AIP) Water Investment Summit in Cape Town.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the International Water Association (IWA) Congress, on Thursday, 20 March 2025 in Cape Town.
The preparatory meeting is a critical step towards the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit, scheduled for August 2025 in Cape Town. The Summit aims to mobilise at least USD 30 billion annually for climate-resilient water and sanitation initiatives across Africa, aligning with South Africa’s G20 Presidency priorities on economic growth, climate sustainability, and enhanced financing for development.
Other key delegates included Arif Alkalali from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Water, Environment, and Agriculture, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Water, and Rural Resettlement Anxious Jongwe Masuka, Zambia’s Minister of Water Development and Sanitation Collins Nzovu, and Senegal’s Minister of Water and Sanitation Dr. Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, who also leads the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW).
Key Objectives of the Preparatory Meeting
The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has outlined several key objectives for the preparatory meeting, including:
- Refining the Summit’s Agenda – Stakeholders will discuss and finalize the thematic areas, key discussion points, and expected outcomes for the main event in August.
- Securing Financial Commitments – The meeting will serve as a platform to consolidate bilateral and multilateral partnerships and encourage financial pledges from government bodies, international development agencies, private investors, and philanthropic organizations.
- Aligning with South Africa’s G20 Presidency Goals – The summit will reinforce South Africa’s global leadership in water security and climate adaptation efforts, ensuring that outcomes resonate with broader development objectives.
- Strengthening Regional Collaboration – Ministers and high-level stakeholders from across Africa will explore synergies and cooperation in addressing cross-border water management and investment challenges.
Meanwhile the department opened one sluice gate at the Vaal Dam to increase outflows and manage dam water levels.
In a statement on Thursday, the department said one sluice gate of the Vaal Dam opened at 12pm, in order to increase releases, due to the increased water levels at the dam amid continuous rainfall.
The dam, which supplies most of Gauteng, is currently sitting at 106.14%.
The department said the increased outflows seek to keep the dam at 105%.
“The opened sluice gate is expected to release between 110 to 130 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) and will remain open over the long weekend and dam levels continue to be closely monitored to ensure that any further action is activated depending on the level of water in the dam.
“All outlet valves that were previously opened and were releasing 60.1 cubic metres per second (mᵌ/s) of water at the Vaal Dam, have now been closed because they do not have the required capacity to release the required volumes,” the department said.
The department emphasised that the current water release by single sluice gate is within the safe operational limits and is not expected to lead to overtopping of riverbanks downstream.