Rise Mzansi has sounded the alarm about the likelihood of a water crisis in Gauteng, stating that the South African government has no idea of the potential cost to the economy if the province reaches ‘Day Zero’.
The party’s Caucus Whip in the National Assembly, Mr Makashule Gana, on Wednesday stressed that more areas in Gauteng are experiencing dry taps, forcing many businesses to shut down.
“Despite the crisis at the door of the economic hub of the country, the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) has no data on how much it would cost the economy for every day the province is without water,” he said.
This admission, according to Gana, was made by Minister Parks Tau in a written response to a RISE Mzansi parliamentary question.
In a recently held media briefing to mark the GNU 100 days in office, Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms. Pemmy Majodina addressed these concerns by clarifying that there is currently no threat to South Africa’s water security.
The minister said the water supply disruptions currently affecting Gauteng are not caused by drought or the maintenance-related closure of the Lesotho water tunnel, but rather by challenges in water resource management.
“[The water crisis] is caused by the rapid growth in the demand for water due to the influx of people from all corners into the city. Leaks are a result of under-budgeting for infrastructure maintenance by municipalities, as well as illegal connections, and vandalism of infrastructure,” she explained.
Despite Majodina’s attempt to downplay the situation, Gana maintained that the Gauteng economy is too important to collapse as a result of a ‘Day Zero’ scenario or negligence on the part of government.
“RISE Mzansi calls for the DTIC to keep up-to-date records of the cost of a Day Zero disaster; and if they do not have the capacity to gather such data to work with bodies like the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI).
“Moreover, the DTIC working with the Gauteng Provincial Government must formulate a publicly available economic resilience and recovery plan in anticipation of Day Zero or similar scenario,” said Gana.
ALSO READ: Ministry provides update on LHWP tunnel maintenance.
