THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Water and life outweigh politics There is widespread concern regarding water service delivery nationwide, with communities in Gauteng, the North West and Eastern Cape bearing the brunt. By Zaid Railoun
C
ited for global recognition in the provision of water supply and sanitation after the 1994 elections, South Africa will now be measured by new standards for a resilient water future. With elections now past and the pink and orange forms dropped, people are still suffering from an acute nationwide drought of water service delivery. The question that remains is: can the electoral elite colours of blue, red, orange and chartreuse yellow implement long-term solutions with their short-term gains? South Africa’s water-scarce label is no secret and its mostly attributable to physical causes and further exacerbated by the impact of global climate change,
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Zaid Railoun, project relationship manager, Morwakoma Matji Investment Holdings
climate variability and increasing demand on available water resources. Several reports and studies show that the country will face its biggest water crisis yet by the beginning of the next decade. When we look at the country’s municipal sewerage system, 90% of the 824 treatment plants releasing raw or partially treated sewage into rivers are close to non-functional. In the Ekurhuleni township of Etwatwa, while millions of South Africans queued up to vote on 1 November, residents were queuing for water. Supply disruptions in the area had left the community without a drop coming out of their taps for the preceding four days. To make matters worse, the little water they do have is being polluted and wasted.
Bonani Madikizela, research manager at the Water Research Commission, stated: “We must regain our human rights to a healthy environment, freedom to swim, fish, irrigate with clean water, and access to dignified sanitation for all. Unless we urgently attend to these fundamental rights, freedom will remain meaningless to the suffering and marginalised societies of South Africa.” This can be driven by citizens and their right to vote and choose who they want to govern their water privileges. The voting decision Imagine that this coming Saturday, you’re going out to the movies with a friend. To be nice, you’ve decided to let your friend pick the movie you’ll see. Who would you rather the friend be: 1) someone who shares your taste in movies but doesn't read movie reviews and knows nothing about which movies are showing in the theatres 2) someone who reads lots of movie reviews but doesn’t like all the things you like 3) someone who once picked out a movie for you to see that you liked? In other words, should you choose someone who shares your preferences, has the expertise, or has a small track record of success in the past? That’s the sort of decision all voting South Africans were faced with at the ballot boxes. Should they endorse the candidate who agrees with us most about what government should do? Should they endorse the candidate who knows the most about solving the nation’s problems? Or should they
