The water crisis in the City of Johannesburg in particular — and Gauteng in general — was entirely avoidable.
Residents and businesses are now facing regular, lengthy outages as a result of years of neglect and an astonishing failure to invest in infrastructure.
But let's be clear, this disaster is brought to you by politicians, with a timeline of poor decisions dating back to before 2014 — even before the chaos of coalitions at local government level added to the stagnation and decay.
This week, mayor Dada Morero and Joburg Water told big business that the city’s infrastructure backlog stood at a whopping R27bn.
Joburg Water finance director Ntshavheni Mukwevho admitted the city should have been investing R1bn a year to meet its target of renewing 2% of the water pipes annually. Sadly, this target has not been met for a decade. Instead, only 0.9% of the annual renewal has been done.
As a result, nearly 50% — almost half of the water provided to the city by Rand Water — was essentially going down the drain. It was a startling admission — particularly made in Morero’s presence.
Under former ANC administrations, water revenue was no longer ring-fenced as it was when Joburg Water was set up in the early 2000s, a time when it was actually a success story.
Back then, thanks to diligent efforts overseen by former city manager Ketso Gordhan, Joburg Water maintained and built onto its infrastructure while turning a profit. But then the city inexplicably shifted from this system, mixing water revenues into its general coffers, assigning just a fraction of what was required for maintenance and infrastructure.
Now, as part of a turnaround strategy, it is going back to the system put in place during Gordhan’s era and water revenue will be ring-fenced again.
The strategy was approved and its implementation is now in motion, with Joburg Water taking responsibility for billing customers, starting with 30% of them, accounting for 50% of its revenue this month. But the transition will be slow, set for conclusion by the end of the decade.
In the meantime, residents and business will continue to suffer regular water outages and shortages, which is likely to worsen as climate change continues to wreak havoc on weather patterns in an already water-scarce country.
The irony is painful: there is little to show for spending revenue from water — a key money-spinner in any council — on other crucial services, with Joburg’s roads, power supply and refuse collection all in disrepair. The question is: where did the money go?
With local elections around the corner, the ANC has some explaining to do. Why shift from a system that worked to one that led to chaos and destruction in the provision of a crucial service such as water?
The ANC and its leaders have to account for the mismanagement that has left our cities in ruins. The residents are now paying the price for over a decade of poor — and potentially unscrupulous — decision-making.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.