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

Cited 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,

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

throw their support behind a candidate whose party has proven to be the most successful in running the country in the recent past?

Water and life decision Voters need to know and note after their decision-making process that the preservation of water is not only government’s responsibility – each person in the country must play their part in a resourceful South Africa. It is important for all citizens, young and old, to commit to safeguarding and conserving water resources in the country, not only for us to continue to live but also thrive during this critical period, as water is infused in our human culture. It is easy to avoid this responsibility, but we cannot avoid the consequences of our actions, which will have an impact for generations to come. Water is viewed as much more than just ‘wet’ and is immersed in our language. We use phrases like “go with the flow” when we cooperate or “blow off some steam” when we get upset. We “freeze up” when we get nervous, and “make a splash” when we become influential and important. Water floated the Titanic and sank her at the same time; water can be everywhere and nowhere all at once, seemingly static, modest but alive with energy in certain pressured scenarios of anthropology.

Water is essentially one word, yet it takes immeasurable structures and forms part of every moment of our very existence, as it is involved symptomatically in everything.

Therefore, water conservation needs to be a part of our lives – not just something we think and talk about only when there is a threat of it becoming scarce. We all need to understand the magnitude of this issue and work together to protect this precious resource. The questions, in this case, are: what you are going to do to play your part and preserve water, and which aligning colours of blue, red, orange and chartreuse yellow did you pick at the polls to look after your constitutional right to build an inclusive, water-resilient future?

There is still much more that needs to be done to ensure access to clean water for all, as human beings cannot exist without it.

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