A mainline water pipe burst on a suburban street near where I live in Johannesburg just more than a week ago. It was probably caused by construction taking place nearby, but the pipe is also ancient and should have been replaced decades ago.
Joburg Water staff tried valiantly to fix the pipe, but the repair held for only 24 hours before bursting again. Since then they seem to be at a loss for what to do. Loss is the right word, because the pipe has been gushing ever since, pouring millions of litres of water into the street and down the stormwater drain. This is a depressingly common occurrence. Johannesburg loses more than 35% of its clean, piped water to leaks every year, and another 10% to other losses.
Fixing this problem not only requires a solution for Joburg Water and its sister entity, City Power, but fixing Johannesburg as a whole. Joburg’s capital investment has been plummeting for 15 years, replaced by exponential growth in personnel expenditure and industrial-scale corruption.
Worse, the city is losing revenue by not billing some of its large customers. Why would any entity deprive itself of revenue? Because individuals in the entities and the billing department agree to doctor the bill to reflect lower consumption in return for personal payment. This “diversion of revenue” is happening in other cities too.
It is clear to everyone that Joburg is at breaking point, and the president has now stepped in to insist on a new approach. But fixing the extraordinary mess in Johannesburg will take more than good intentions. It will take a clear plan, carefully implemented with iron political will.
Johannesburg cannot be fixed unless there is a courageous effort to root out the organised criminal networks that are linked to individuals holding political and administrative power. No amount of goodwill or technical expertise will be effective without addressing this problem.
Joburg Water and City Power are the most important city entities, and should operate as utilities that retain their income and invest it in their infrastructure. Their tariff structures should be reformed, their revenues protected and their capital budgets maximised. This cannot happen under a centralised billing and capital allocation system.
Smaller entities, set up 30 years ago in a more hopeful moment, should be reconsidered and most of them closed. They have become fiefdoms that add little value, and some are used to siphon money out of the city.
The Metro centre should be reopened and the planning department should get on with the work of approving plans and facilitating property development. No city can expect a decent future if it throttles investment.
The myriad problems of the inner city can and should be addressed with a clear plan and strong partnerships. This must include a new approach to hijacked buildings. The city seems to have learnt nothing from the Usindiso fire and is spinning wheels while buildings teeter on the edge of disaster.
The city’s roads and bridges must be addressed. Maintaining roads is a fairly simple matter, but can only be done with competent management and a multiyear investment programme. Maintaining old bridges presents a more technical challenge but can be easily achieved with the right approach.
The city and the province should sell their unused and often derelict buildings for affordable housing. The city did this through the Better Buildings Programme in the late 1990s, with excellent results.
Johannesburg has the advantage of being home to great businesses and nonprofit organisations that are putting up their hands to help. New York faced a similar set of challenges in the 1980s. It took a decade of organised, well-resourced, skilful and honest effort to turn that around. Johannesburg could achieve the same, but rescuing this city will take more than good intentions.
• Bethlehem is an economic development specialist and partner at Genesis Analytics. She has worked in the forestry, renewable energy, housing and property sectors as well as in local and national government.
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