ANC government staring ‘dire consequences’ in the face over drought

And, while academics Anthony Turton of the University of the Free State’s centre for environmental management and Mary Scholes of Wits University, have warned of “dire consequences” for the country, should government fail to take drastic measures, Ongama Mtimka, Nelson Mandela University’s political science lecturer, has warned of implications for the ruling ANC.

Commenting against the background of recent fierce battles in the Maluti community’s scramble for clean drinking water in the Free State, Mtimka warned: “While water is expected to become a global geopolitical issue, in South Africa it should raise the eye of the ANC on bad management – if other areas have water while some don’t.”

Mtimka said there was “a growing consensus in terms of global politics on water, which is going to be a major geo-political issue, if one looks at tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Nile River”.

He added: “Because South Africa has been stricken by drought, this has galvanised communities to stage protests, due to the non-existence of public services like water.

“Drought has increased the extent in which water has contributed to politics.”

Turton said the water crisis was exacerbated by an estimated 40% of municipalities having failed in critical areas of service delivery, which included water provision.

“Typically, one of the early points of failure in any distressed municipality is sewage and water service delivery.

“On an average day in South Africa, around 5.3 billion litters of sewage are processed, with about 4.3 billion being discharged directly into rivers without any treatment.

“This is one of the biggest issues because it is driving a human health problem of potentially unprecedented proportions.”

Government, said Turton, seemed to reject the science from credible individuals and institutions.

He said: “In my view the water crisis response ought to be driven by the presidency, given that it is a national strategic problem, cross-linked to so many other aspects such as health, job creation and investor confidence.

“Another critical response should be the creation of an independent water regulator, because government has shown that it cannot be both player and referee.

“If the department of water and sanitation (DWS) was a capable regulator, then municipalities would not have been allowed to get into the position they now find themselves in.

Turton cautioned that “fundamental water constraints” were to be seen in KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, Limpopo, Free State, North West, Mpumalanga and Gauteng.

“Critical water constraints have already emerged in Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

“No economic development will be possible in these coastal cities without a policy shift to embrace water recovery from waste and desalination of sea water on a utility scale.

“Where we have seen desalination, it is always been in small package plant with high unit costs and thus unsustainable,” said Turton.

He said citizens confined water to drinking, bathing and watering of gardens.

He explained: “This is only a small part of the picture. Water is needed to sustain the economy and food supplies. Two-thirds of our water is just for food, and about 30% just for the economy.  ”

Scholes warned of future flooding patterns.

“Due to climate change, flooding will also increase, which means that infrastructural planning and maintenance needs to be constantly reviewed.

“Municipalities must provide water to communities that is of drinking quality.

“Recently there have been cases of water being delivered by tanker to communities that had not been treated.

“This is extremely dangerous as people use the water and then become ill, especially babies and the elderly – a burden on the health system.”

brians@citizen.co.za

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