SPEECH OF THE HONOURABLE MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY DURING THE COMMEMORATION OF WORLD WATER DAY 2014
MALAM’LELA PRIMARY SCHOOL
27th MARCH 2014
Thank you Program Director;
Your Royal Highnesses/Bantfwabenkhosi;
The Manzini Regional Administrator
UN Representatives,
The Traditional leadership;
Honourable Member of Parliament;
Directors of Government and Partner Agencies;
Management of Malam’lela Primary School
Ladies and Gentlemen.
I am so honoured to be part of this Water Day commemorative event especially at such an early stage of my tenure as the Minister for Natural Resources and Energy. The focus on water and energy is actually at the heart of my Ministry and we believe that maximising the efficient use of the two will significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
As we join the world in commemorating World Water Day 2014 under the theme ‘Water and Energy’, let us be reminded of those of us who live in poor peri-urban areas and in rural areas. These communities tend to lag behind in terms of access to safe drinking water, appropriate sanitation and sufficient energy services. As a Ministry we are committed to investing all our efforts to ensure equitable access to water and energy services in the whole of the Kingdom of Swaziland.
Ladies and gentlemen,
When considering the issues of Water and Energy, I realize the multi-pronged nature of the subject. Water and energy are inseparable. Water is used to generate energy, and energy is used to pump and distribute water. The demand to produce more energy drives up the use of water and the demand for more water drives up energy use. Increasing water use efficiency and managing water demand can save significant amounts of energy, while improving energy efficiency and managing energy demand can conserve water.
The call by His Majesty King Mswati III for us all to pursue First World Status, implies that we have to hasten our country’s socio-economic development. That will call for investing all efforts in finding efficient means of harnessing water and also improving its usage overall as well as in generating energy, which is another key ingredient to development. As we pursue our goal therefore, it is important for us to remember that there is a strong relationship between income and the demand for energy and water. For poor people, energy and water are used to meet basic needs such as drinking, cooking, and heating. As people become richer, they increase their use of energy and water far beyond basic needs, for example, in water-intensive foods, material goods, and air conditioning.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There is an urgent need for all of us to adopt efficient means of utilising our resources. Climate change brings unpredictability especially regarding the availability of water. Too much or too little water will aggravate management of the water and energy nexus. I am glad that today, the organising committee for this year’s celebrations opted to demonstrate practical means to manage the water and energy nexus
The demonstration of the rainwater harvesting project and its connection to the Grey Water Tank teaches us how to harness every possible drop of water and also promote its efficient use, even going to the extent of re-using the water to meet our needs.
We will recall that the previous weeks have been characterised by a lot of rain and bear testimony to the fact that water can be excessive at some point even to the level of causing us discomfort. Such times should be viewed as an opportunity to harvest water for use in times of need. Collecting water from roof tops and storing it in tanks enables us to have access to this water later when there is scarcity.
I was impressed when I toured the projects earlier to also see a grey water-tank which can be embraced by all homesteads in maximising the use of water. Grey water is water from washing dishes, bathing and washing clothes. This water may contain traces of dirt, food, grease, and certain household cleaning products. While grey water may look “dirty,” it is a safe and even a beneficial source of irrigation water in the yard. If released into rivers, the nutrients in grey water become pollutants, but to plants, they are valuable fertilizer. In this project, the excess and used water from the rain water harvesting project has been diverted and stored in the grey water tank for use in small scale gardening. I am glad to learn that a school garden and fruit trees were planted as part of this demonstration. These will contribute to food security in the school.
Now to focus on the energy dimension; water is one of the major drivers of hydropower generation. Due to its scarcity however, the drive globally nowadays is to develop and implement other alternative efficient means of generating energy and not depend on water alone. Solar energy, biomass, briquettes, biogas and bio fuels are other energy generating methods that we should be focusing on. As demonstrated with the energy efficient stoves, Sandanezwe was used as a bio fuel to heat the stove. This is killing two birds with one stone as an alien plant (which consumes a lot of the much needed water) was removed and used to generate fuel and heating in an energy-efficient stove.
I must emphasise that these demonstrations should not be practiced today only but every homestead represented here must consciously embrace such sustainable means of using water and energy to improve socio-economic development.
Programme director, ladies and gentlemen,
Before ending my speech today, I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate all those who were involved in organizing this year’s World Water Day activities. As the Ministry dealing with water and energy issues we wish to extend our appreciation to both the Energy Department and the Department of Water Affairs for making efforts to convene stakeholders to commemorate this day. We would like to thank the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC), Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA), Swaziland Water Services Corporation (SWSC). Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (SWADE) and the Komati Basin Water Authority (KOBWA) for partnering with us. I would not have done justice to my duty if I fail to recognise the contributions made by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in assisting us to drive this UN agenda. To you all, we value your partnership and wish you well in your daily operations.
In conclusion, I must stress that the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy strives to enhance the efficient use of water and energy in order to realise a sustainable green economy. If we can all be committed to adopting the energy and water efficient practices that were demonstrated earlier here, we can begin to make strides in improving resource management, increasing productivity and alleviating poverty where it matters.
Thank you and May God bless you.