Water crisis: The blame culture of non-payment

South Africans should brace themselves up for more water shedding, especially in the big cities, as we are witnessing for the second week in Johannesburg.

The City of Cape Town made international headlines in the recent past when it dodged day zero.

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People in the City of Tshwane experience regular water interruptions.

The tragic deaths of 23 people from Hammanskraal in 2023 remind us of the questionable quality of water.

As a result of the skewed development of water and sanitation infrastructure during the apartheid regime, a lot of urban areas were left with state-of-the-art infrastructure, while the rural communities were left to fend for themselves.

It is now becoming clearer that the inherited infrastructure in the big cities and dorpies has not been maintained or supplemented to respond to the growing population and urbanisation.

The global sustainable development goals and South Africa’s National Development Plan acknowledge that water is at the centre of economic development and employment.

It is impossible to think about growing the economy without access to reliable, clean, and affordable water. Water and sanitation is a responsibility of the state through local government, however residents, or consumers, are expected to pay for consumption of water to ensure the sustenance of the system.

There has been a worrying trend in South Africa, where people have got used to being granted free electricity and water.

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That has to stop. Everyone who uses electricity, sanitation, water, or any other municipal services should pay for it. Politicians from across all parties should call for residents to adopt a more active role in their communities by paying for services.

If we all pay we will expect – and get – quality services, and we have a right to question it whenever we are unhappy. It should be in special cases, such as the indigent, who may be wavered for such services. All of us should pay, period.

The continuous water shortages in the cities will continue due to rapid urbanisation, where people are migrating from the rural areas to cities in search of survival, and the general growth of population.

Most of these people in the cities are not paying for the water sanitation and electricity that they are using. Another factor is that our cities have not been futuristic in their approach.

They do not plan for their communities by building dams, increasing and maintaining the infrastructure and legally connecting everyone to the central grid.

The City of Joburg should spend enough or more money on the maintenance of its aging infrastructure, which is as old as 70.

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Many pipes are rusted and some burst. More water is lost to leakages and those who are supposed to respond will only do so when too many litres have been lost.

They are not even doing proper maintenance where they replace old pipes, they patch or cover the leak. It is a common cause that the infrastructure that was put in by the National Party some 70 years ago was meant to service a smaller population, not 15 million.

The extreme temperatures as a result of the climate change have also contribute to the water shortages. It makes sense to blame the nonpaying culture on consumers who expect to drink water without paying for it. But who will do the maintenance? With what money?

We should also blame bad governance, maladministration and corruption. Local authorities need to be strict on establishing or maintaining a paying culture for services rendered.

The money should result in improved water quality to ensure people get what they pay for. Water is too important to be politicised.

• Mokgatlhe is a political writer and columnist. He is studying for a master of arts in African studies, African sustainable communities.