All talk, talk and no action

Geoff Botts is so right when he says the consumer is not responsible for the lack of water (Object to threats of fines, Courier, July 24).

The responsibility lies squarely with the KwaDukuza municipality, who are very quick to take our rates in good times and then kick and scream foul when it comes to the bad times. Obviously this drought is not the responsibility of any user or the KDM but where is the forward planning that should have been done when the North Coast started to expand at a huge rate once there was a new airport? It is all talk, talk, talk and no action on KDM’s part.

We have lived on the North Coast for the past four years and in that time, I have heard talk ad infinitum of raising of the dam wall, etc. Still nothing has been done. Last week, in another newspaper, it was suggested that the next war would be fought over drinking water. This is such nonsense when over 70% of the earth’s surface is water, admittedly salt water, but this can be desalinated and these desalination plants should be built now, not tomorrow, not next week, but now when the needs of the world for water are becoming more and more.

Apparently Dubai, being desert, has been built from that desert using desalination plants and is going from strength to strength, whereas South Africa, lagging behind in everything, is still moaning about apartheid, as if this had anything to do with the drought in 2014/15 or with that same lack of forethought, with the electricity.

We are now a third world country, certainly lagging behind many other third world countries, who try to help their people. Administering fines, especially in the haphazard way that Sembcorp has been trying to do, first of all to people who have not been using much water, and secondly, not taking into account the dam was only 50% full before last Christmas, is a knee jerk reaction. It will not help the water situation.

Now Sembcorp is jumping up and down and threatening the consumer, when what they should be doing, should have been done years ago, is to build dams which will be enough for the steadily increasing amount of people. Please Sembcorp, just come to the party instead of threatening and do what you are being paid to do and sort out water for the thousands who rely on you.

Perhaps, at this late stage, we are going to have to rely on the rain coming, but the dams must be made bigger to enable the larger population (which is going to grow) to have water when needed. If people were offered incentives to use as little water as possible by offering prizes for the lowest users, this might be better than getting out the whip and threats.

JILL ORTON

Simbithi

Small correction – Sembcorp doesn’t build dams, that’s the government’s job – Editor