
The Water Research Commission (WRC), in partnership with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), Sol Plaatje University (SPU) and the Frances Baard District Municipality, will host a roadshow in the Northern Cape on 12-13 March 2024. The event forms part of the National Water Week, for which the focus is ‘Accelerating Change’ and seeks to strengthen provincial water and sanitation resilience to climate change through Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI).
The event will result in strategic interventions that will support the Northern Cape Province to accelerate change in water services, water resources management, and climate change preparedness.
Highlights include the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SPU around arid region initiatives. This strategic partnership will also see collaboration between the University, the WRC and its partners towards RDI programmes, projects and activities to address key water sector needs and challenges in the Northern Cape Province.
“Diversified approaches are required to balance water supply and demand. There is a need to explore such innovations at a municipal level,” said Dr Jennifer Molwanta, WRC CEO. “Such challenging problems can only be solved through significant partnership and collaboration, and the WRC aims to play a catalytic role within the Northern Cape.”
This latest engagement aligns to the strategic direction of the WRC towards extending a strong stakeholder-centric approach that boosts innovation-driven developments to enhance climate resilience and adaptation within the water and sanitation sector in South Africa. The Northern Cape Province was selected as the inaugural region for these endeavours. Several engagements were held with SALGA, Sol Plaatje University, the Office of the Premier and the district and local municipalities during the course of the year to assess the specific needs of the province, during which RDI interventions have been identified to support development in the province.
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