Minister Mokonyane taking jobs from South Africans 

19 May 2016

The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane, announced that South Africa and Iran would enter into a partnership in which Iran would be developing desalination plants along all coastal communities to boost water supply. This deal will likely have the implication of taking valuable job opportunities away from 8.9 million South Africans who need them.

This comes as a surprise to the DA, since we have South African companies and International Companies located in the country with excellent experience in the desalination of seawater. While we are not opposed to the use of foreign companies; we believe that South Africans should be given an opportunity to empower themselves and the many unemployed.

As such, I will submit the following parliamentary questions to determine the following:  

- Were any South African companies considered for this tender?

- Why did Minister Mokonyane choose to partner with Iran when we could create many more jobs by doing it locally?

- What studies were done by the Department of Water and Sanitation and who was consulted?

- How many competitive tenders were received that were open to public scrutiny before the Minister and President Zuma entered into the bilateral commission between South Africa and Iran? 

It is then questionable why Minister Mokonyane would pursue a partnership with a country currently struggling with its own desalination plants, and which is in fact in discussions with South African companies requesting assistance with repairing their own desalination plants.

Qualifying South African companies could put up desalination plants with their technology, which will supply water at a lower cost than most international competitors.

Once again, like in the Cuban appointments, it seems that the agreement with Iran is more important to the ANC Government than creating jobs for the 8.9 million South Africans suffering without an income. This will see billions of rands spent in Iran, and will likely cause further damage to our economy.

In cases like this, the obvious question is: Who is to benefit from this agreement with Iran? The answer very frequently becomes apparent when you follow the money.

The DA will continue to ensure that those held in power are held accountable, and ensure that South African Companies are granted a fair opportunity to contribute towards the economy, and create jobs for the millions of unemployed youth in the country. 

Issued by Leon Basson, DA Deputy Shadow Minister of Water and Sanitation, 19 May 2016