Water and electricity on the endangered list

PLANNING a glamorous Christmas Eve or New Year lounging in a jacuzzi, sipping champagne, in a romantic little place on the Coast? Sorry to burst your bubble. It’s time for plan B.

Water levels on the North and South Coasts are in crisis and jacuzzis have been banned along with a whole slew of restrictions which could put a damper on holiday festivities.

According to Umgeni Water the level of the Hazelmere dam was at 43 per cent and the EJ Smith dam on the South Coast was at 35 per cent.

These dams supply water to the luxury holiday resorts and housing estates and towns of the north and south coast and with an expected influx of visitors in the coming weeks the situation looks bleak.

We, on the highway, may be counting our lucky stars, but Umgeni Water has warned that we cannot be complacent and has called on residents to exercise constraint with water use. Dams supplying this region of KZN are 70 per cent full but rainfall in the catchment areas has been scant and not much is expected until next year.

They haven’t exactly banned jacuzzis like they did on the North Coast, but restrictions will be in the offing if we don’t take it easy on the water.

Oh, what fun. Add to that our teetering electricity supply and we have a recipe for a catastrophe.

Water and electricity are essential to sanitation and with load shedding, it has been reported that water treatment plants are under stress. That’s a package for an outbreak of some nasty tummy troubles.

If this all sounds a tad negative, well, yes it is. There is nothing positive about our failing infrastructure, the disappearance of the necessities of life and the impact this has on the economy. A visit to the Pavilion on Saturday was a case in point.

At the height of the load shedding at the weekend which, by the way, was not according to the published schedule, at least half of the stores were closed and in darkness. Some shops put up tape across their doors and staff could be seen sitting at the entrances with nothing to do but man the doors. And it wasn’t only the small shops which were closed, some major chains were also locked up.

The mall should have been buzzing at this time of year and it would be interesting to see an estimate of how much money was lost by shops throughout the city this past weekend.

Also of interest would be an explanation from Eskom about exactly what is going on and why everything is falling apart.

Their reassurances, and putting the blame on the long suffering end user, are wearing a bit thin. May we please have the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth and, pray tell, are we still supplying our neighbours with this scarce commodity?

I have a feeling that we are in for a few more years of this nonsense along with a failing education system, state hospitals on life support, an airline having its wings clipped by infighting and allegations of jobs for pals, and our esteemed parliament a meeting place of rabble-rousers and thugs. We lurch from scandal to scandal and is it any wonder that some major players in world politics have no wish to meet with our leaders.

I’m off to fill my gas cylinders, find the other camping equipment and prepare for a long siege by incompetence, cronyism and corruption. How long before the wheels fall off?

Remember that car sticker from year’s ago which read: “would the last person to leave the country please turn off the lights”. How trusting and naive that we thought electricity was a given.