A political spat is brewing between the DA and national government over the handling of the drought crisis that is threatening to bring the city of Cape Town to its knees.
Cape Town is in the midst of its worst drought in a century and could become the first major city in the world to run out of water, with officials predicting that most taps could run dry by April 12.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who has taken political control of Cape Town’s response to the drought, suggested on Wednesday that the ANC-led national government, which is constitutionally mandated to deliver water to all municipalities, was dragging its feet in dealing with water crisis in the DA-controlled city of Cape Town.
Maimane said the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape provincial government were currently considering legal action to compel national government to act. However, he conceded that the city had not handled the crisis well so far, saying its communication, in particular, had fallen short.
On Wednesday, the Western Cape provincial cabinet resolved to take whatever steps necessary to recover the money from the national government to cover the cost of the current water crisis interventions.
Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane hit back, saying that what Western Cape premier Helen Zille and Maimane had sought to do was "absolve themselves of their responsibilities in the management of the water crisis, through an attempt to mischievously create scapegoats and shift the blame on the seriousness of the water crisis to national government and the minister, in particular".
"No amount of politicking and scapegoats will do away with the imminent water blackout we face in the Western Cape if we fail to act responsibly," Mokonyane said.
"What the premier and Mmusi Maimane are trying to do is to shield the province and their organisation from accountability on the water crisis by shifting blame on the issue to national government without acknowledgment of the interventions implemented thus far in support of the province, by the national government working through the National Disaster Management Centre," the minister said.
"Our mandate for water provision and support knows no politics and we will not be drawn into petty political squabbles while the people and economy of the Western Cape are on the verge of a possible water supply blackout," Mokonyane said.
Dam levels in Cape Town, now at a meagre 27.2%, are dropping fast and consumption remains high. However, because the last 10% of water is mostly unusable, it effectively means dam levels are at 17.2%. This is very unlikely to be enough to last the city until the end of May when the winter rainy season usually starts.
"Many people I speak to ask why more dams have not been built," said Maimane.
"I want to make something very clear on the bulk supply of water. There is a misconception that this is the role of a city and it is a local government responsibility. … It is not. It is the constitutional mandate of national government to deliver water to all municipalities. The city purchases bulk water, in much the same way that it purchases bulk electricity from Eskom," he said.
Maimane said the funding for any additional water supply falls within national government.
"Local governments simply don’t have those kinds of funds or the mandate for bulk water provision. The Western Cape as a whole needs the national government to play its legally mandated role to ensure greater water security. And I will be taking the fight to national government to make sure that it fulfils this role."
What the city does control, said Maimane, is the infrastructure that cleans the water and carries it to residents.
The city had put in place a strategy to reduce water losses from its pipe network, reducing such losses to 14%.
"The city has been hugely successful in delivering on this strategy, which is well below the international average, and also well below the average of 37% for municipalities in SA."
Maimane said desalination was an expensive and complex option.
"And the problem is that there simply isn’t money. Large-scale facilities cost anything up to R15bn. That is a third of Cape Town’s annual budget. No city can afford such facilities on its own, especially when their provision is outside its legal mandate."
Maimane said the only way to avoid Day Zero in the immediate term was by further reducing demand.
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