UNLIKE Joburg residents, Ekurhuleni residents can enjoy a breather on water restrictions – for now.
As the country continues to face dire shortages in its water supply, tough limitations on water consumption are in the pipelines for the metro.
This comes after an urgent motion for water restrictions was put forward by the ANC during the council meeting on Wednesday last week.
Announcing the proposal for the restrictions, Chief Whip Jongizizwe Dlabathi said, following a Government Gazette publication on water restrictions, all municipalities are expected to implement water restrictions in order to save 15% on its consumption.
Although the opposition is in agreement that introducing water restrictions in the metro is necessary, the DA feels certain issues, such as high penalty fees, should be taken into consideration.
“Introducing water restrictions should be done in consultation with all residents, instead of merely imposing it, to the ultimate detriment of the poor,” the DA’s Clr Nicola da Silva said.
One of the penalties which would be imposed on water restriction violations would be a 10 per cent price increase. This would include users who fail to reduce their consumption by 15 % of their average monthly consumption.
During the council meeting, the DA put forward an amended resolution for the proposed restrictions.
Under the current proposed tariff, domestic users and institutions can expect to receive a 10 % increase, businesses a 30 % increase and, in special cases, ERGO and sports clubs must pay a 40 per cent increase.
“While it would have been easier for the more affluent domestic users to absorb the cost or reduction requirement from a usage perspective, this would not have been the same for a poorer family. They would be subject to 10% penalty fee over and above the expected 10% increase,” Da Silva argued.
The DA amended the clauses in the resolution by requesting that the metro prioritised the fixing of leaks by establishing a designated 24-hour call centre line to collect and record responses, with an expected response time of three to six hours. The city manager should be compelled to manage and fix water leaks across the metro.
In the past five years, the metro has lost over 30% of its water, amounting to over R500-million a year, Da Silva mentioned.
“If leaks are fixed timeously, the money saved could be re-directed towards improving service delivery. The metro would also be less likely to impose burdensome penalties on residents, especially the poor,” Da Silva concluded.
During his acceptance speech, Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina said the new administration would promote the preservation of water usage and continue investing in water infrastructure to ensure security of supply.
“We, therefore, call upon all members of this house to lead the charge for water conservation and to educate our communities to use water sparingly. That way we can realise the security of supply and reduce the risk of water restrictions,” Masina urged.
Speaking at a press club session in Germiston on August 29, Masina said as Ekurhuleni moved towards a single city vision, most of the infrastructure, including water, needed to be re-engineered to fit that of a single city.
He aims to interconnect infrastructure to enable all towns in Ekurhuleni to share services. “We want to avoid a situation where there’s water in Alberton and none in Benoni. All the towns must be able to feed to each other,” he said.
The proposal, together with the amendments from the DA, will be reviewed by council and a decision will be made at a later stage.
