Senzo Mchunu, South Africa’s minister of water and sanitation, is heading a team to the Stockholm World Water Week conference in Sweden.
With his peers from across the globe, the Minister will take part in a number of panel discussions to debate South Africa’s policies on water security.
The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) has been hosting Stockholm World Water Week, the premier annual conference on global water challenges, since 1991. It begins on Monday.
The conference’s topic, “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water,” focuses on global water challenges and intends to study novel water management techniques while addressing the effects of water shortages on, among other things, food security, health, and agriculture.
A spokesman for the ministry, Kamogelo Mogotsi, said that some of the conversations in which Mchunu would take part will be centred on the importance of water cooperation as well as the role of private sector financing on wastewater treatment in Africa.
Dr. Sean Phillips, the Director-General (DG) of the department, together with other top representatives from the department and its organisations, are there with Mchunu.
competition for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize
Unam Halam is scheduled to propose the Drop Saver idea, which aims to stop water leaks as part of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize competitions, and Mchunu has voiced his faith in Halam.
Students between the ages of 15 and 20 who have created research initiatives that potentially address significant water concerns are eligible for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.
Halam, 16, attends Heatherlands High School in George.
In order to assist Halam, who will be competing against her peers from 36 other nations, the Minister and DG will be present at the junior events.
“Her idea is desperately required, particularly given that South Africa has a water shortage. I am eager to get to know her and hang out with her,” Mchunu remarked.