JOHANNESBURG – Former President Kgalema Motlanthe on Tuesday said that the COVID-19 pandemic had raised awareness around the country’s water scarcity problem.
Motlanthe said that the state, led by the governing African National Congress (ANC), had to come up with ways to address this.
The former president was speaking during a webinar hosted by his foundation focusing on inclusive growth and the country post the coronavirus. He said one of the biggest challenges was how to provide portable water to poor communities as the country battled the spread of COVID-19.
“We have seen how in our own country the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fact that many communities don’t have access to potable water,” Motlanthe said.
Foundation chairperson Professor Firoz Cachalia said that the lack of vision by government was to blame for the country’s socio-economic issues.
“The country needs a new vision and I don’t think we have such a vision of what I call a just society,” Cachalia said.
The Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation said that for things to change for the better, the state had to change its approach to these issues.