Water crisis set to be major issue in local government elections

The city is on a serious drive to discourage water theft which, it says, has become a growing concern for Nelson Mandela Bay. This comes in the form of meter-tampering, illegal water connections and even unauthorised use of fire hydrants. As residents, we should join hands with the city in saving this scarce resource.

However, as it has been pointed out before, the city authorities should play their part in ensuring that water leaks are minimised and that the infrastructure is kept up to standard. As we move towards the next local government elections, reliable access to water is becoming a major campaign issue not just here in Nelson Mandela Bay, but across the country. If load-shedding contributed to the massive stayaway by voters during the last national and provincial elections, the water crisis may determine how most municipalities end up at the conclusion of the municipal elections.

In our city and elsewhere, those currently in office and seeking re-election will do well to attend to the crisis as a matter of urgency. While they may be right to point out that part of the crisis is that we have residents, companies and other establishments who have resorted to stealing water, the elected representatives should also tell us how they are working to save the thousands of kilolitres that get lost due to water leaks. Those outside of power and seeking to become the next local governments should also know that it is not enough to go around pointing out how water is being lost through the negligence of the incumbents, they have to present voters with a credible plan of how they are going to solve the problem once in office.

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In the end, it is not accusations and counter-accusations that are going to save us from the crisis. It is actual and practical solutions.

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