Jozi’s watershed apocalypse approaches

Joburg Water has reached a tipping point, a watershed. Nothing underway now, no process or grand scheme, is enough to prevent a further slide to apocalyptic collapse.

Daily bursts and worse will be with us for a long time.

WATCH: Joburg water crisis sparks protest, residents demand action

Elections, public protest meetings and threats of rates boycotts are unlikely to improve the situation, unless we can mobilise investment on an unprecedented scale.

Such investment won’t happen until there’s a complete change of leadership in Joburg, jettisoning all corrupt incompetents. Joburg Water’s deterioration didn’t happen overnight. It’s been a long time coming. Figures presented in 2017 by city’s first DA-led government showed dramatic annual increases in water bursts and sewer blockages.

For example, bursts went from 32 131 in 2014- 15 to 38 058 in 2015-16 and 45 177 in 2016-17. There was a similar trend for sewer blockages.

This downhill slide, which has continued unabated, can be blamed on lack of investment in preventive maintenance, renewal and upgrading. Cadre deployment, corruption, theft and vandalism also contributed.

At the time (2017) it was estimated that Joburg Water required investment of at least R12.6 billion over 10 years. Failure to invest has made matters worse. Infrastructure continues to deteriorate, while the cost of remedying has ballooned to R24 billion, according to a Joburg Water statement last month.

No sensible investor would bank on an organisation that writes off nearly half of its incoming bulk supply to “nonrevenue water” and is incapable of keeping its 12 066km pipe network in reasonable condition.

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A rates boycott would further reduce the city’s ability to pay for maintenance and would accelerate the downward spiral. In any event, rates boycotts are almost invariably illegal, as expert lawyers point out.

Schindler’s, for example, say: “It is unlawful to withhold the payment of property rates for any reason, even if the municipality is not providing the services that you would typically associate with what you pay rates for.”

Public meetings and protests provide opportunities for residents to vent their frustrations but are unlikely to produce the desired results.

It would be like flogging a dead – or severely disabled – horse. Joburg Water simply cannot deliver what ratepayers demand. Elections may seem to offer a glimmer of hope.

However, local government polls are not until 2026. Can Joburg Water survive that long without drastic intervention?

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Our best hope is that non-ANC-EFF-MK coalitions take over at national and provincial level.

They could then have control of sufficient public money (our money) to allocate to the refurbishment, upgrading and maintenance of Joburg’s water infrastructure under sound, ethical management.

Connections between provincial and metro governments are crucial. The latest nosedive in conditions in Joburg and Ekurhuleni began when current Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi pulled strings to install ANC-EFF governments in these metros.

That’s when looting and disorder resumed. Fixing Joburg Water will take a long time, but it can be done when the ANC is removed from political power.

The same model applies to electricity, roads, and waste management in other big municipalities. Vote for people whom you know will get the job done. Turn off the ANC’s taps.