Cilliers Brink, mayor of Tshwane, announced the partnership on Monday. (Photo: The City of Tshwane/Facebook)
Authorities in Denmark’s second largest city, Aarhus, will help the Tshwane metro address its ongoing water problems for the next three years.
Denmark will also grant R33 million to the metro to help with this.
Cilliers Brink, mayor of Tshwane, announced on Monday that these two cities will work together from April this year until March 2026 in an effort to improve the metro’s capacity to manage its water resources.
“This partnership is in effect an opportunity for the city to learn best practices in water security and management from the Danish government,” says Brink.
The two cities agreed to cooperate on water management projects, such as reducing water losses, actively detecting leaks, prioritizing pipe replacements, focusing on obtaining own water resources and managing waste water efficiently.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted the amount to Tshwane with the aim of funding various study models and concepts that will improve Tshwane’s water security.
Tshwane has been suffering from all kinds of water problems lately, from power outages that drain Pretoria’s reservoirs to outdated infrastructure that causes all kinds of breakdowns.
Brink previously said it was worrying that Tshwane is solely dependent on Rand Water for its water supply.
He also undertook upon his appointment as mayor to reduce the number of unplanned water and power outages by building up and maintaining the metro’s infrastructure.
“We know that there are many water problems in Tshwane, therefore it is important that we work with world-class cities and learn from them so that we can build a city that works for its people,” he says.
“Maintaining our water infrastructure is one of my top priorities and we must keep ourselves humble and accept help from others.”
