This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scotland provides blueprint for international development
26/04/2005
Scotland's publicly owned and regulated water industry
could provide a model for reform in South Africa.
South Africa is planning major reform of its water
industry and sees Scottish Water as a model for developing
its industry.
Deputy Environment Minister Lewis Macdonald met with
South Africa's Minister for Water Affairs, Ms Buyelwa
Sonjica today.
Mr Macdonald said:
"The interest now being shown in Scottish Water around
the world is testament to the success of the publicly owned
model we have developed in Scotland.
"Since merging three regional water authorities in 2002,
Scottish Water has delivered savings of over £1 million per
week for customers through greater efficiency.
"We are now looking at one of the largest per-capita
investment programmes in the UK to continue to drive up
standards of drinking water quality, and environmental
compliance whilst opening up capacity for 60,000 new homes
over the next investment period.
"Through a publicly owned and regulated water industry
we are delivering for the people of Scotland whilst keeping
charges stable. We are confident that our model can deliver
benefits too for the people of South Africa."
Minister Sonjica added:
"I have been greatly impressed by what I've seen on this
fact finding visit.
"South Africa's water industry has made significant
improvements since 1994 but we still face significant
challenges in connecting five million people to a public
water supply.
"We look forward to building on this visit and working
closely with the Scottish Executive and Scottish Water in
developing our industry."