The recent election was a pivotal moment. The nation exercised its collective constitutional right, delivering a clear message. The results show a fractured society with no clear majority. It also reveals a plethora of parties, often too small to make a real difference, ushering in the second government of national unity (GNU).
Are we now in the Era of the Rebirth of Hope?
It is apparent that the moderate majority favour a GNU, centered on core values, clearly focussed on attenuating the corrosive outcome of service delivery failure. Central is the need to create jobs. To do this, the water sector must be stabilised. This is where the good news begins.
On 18 June, I was invited to participate in the launch of the Platform for a Water Secure Gauteng (PWSG). As an invited participant I watched and listened, as a range of experts engaged. Leading the way was Dr Sean Phillips, Director General of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), building on his pre-election approach to the stabilisation of all water service providers in South Africa.
He has built a stable team of executive leaders, clustered around the need for inclusivity of all parties impacted by failing infrastructure. The message was clear — unless we cooperate by developing a new consensus about the way forward, then Gauteng’s water security will continue to decline, and the largest contributor to the national economy will face Day Zero.
Dr Phillips’ voice was one of authority, but also of wisdom and pragmatism. He spoke about a new era of respect for all professionals, and the need to shift from a posture of blame-seeking to solution-thinking as a matter of national priority. A growing trust deficit was identified as an impediment.
Refreshingly, Dr Phillips accepted full responsibility that the delay in the implementation of Phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project, was caused by the former leadership in his own department. As a result, increased supply into the Integrated Vaal River System (IVRS), originally scheduled for 2019, will now only happen in 2028.
He spoke of water losses, but also of water theft, driven by the emergence of criminal syndicates converting a manufactured crisis into financial opportunity. He also spoke of squabbling organs of State sending out confused messages, amplified by social media and NGOs representing defined interest groups.
He elaborated on the need to improve water quality, most notably from our failing sewage plants. His message was clear. As a direct result of these factors, Gauteng needs to limit its water consumption by at least 10%, or 400 megalitres per day (that’s 400 million litres) if it is to avert Day Zero. This must be done in the next 12 to 24 months.
Supply and demand crisis
Providing a sobering bite of the reality sandwich, the Group CEO of Rand Water (RW) explained that his organisation faces a serious dilemma.
On the one hand, the municipalities and metros supplied by them demand more water, because of the high levels of losses in their broken municipal networks.
On the other hand, DWS is acting as a responsible regulator by refusing to authorise an increase in the abstraction rates listed in their water-use licence. The CEO admitted that his organisation is legally non-compliant, stating that he is faced with a no-win reality.
This speaks of reality, without trying to deflect blame onto anyone else. It reflects a growing maturity in our troubled democracy, showing the scale of the water supply dilemma in South Africa.
Reflecting hard experience, an insightful presentation was given about the Cape Town Day Zero crisis. This went into detail, distilling out the essential elements of success. Two are important enough to highlight.
The first is that the quantum of reduced demand needed to avoid Day Zero in Cape Town was significantly higher than that needed to avert the Gauteng crisis. Given that Cape Town was successful in the end, this is encouraging indeed, because it tells us that this is a doable task.
The second was the need for buy-in from all role-players because that creates the mindset shift on which a successful strategy is built. Therefore, we were again presented with a clear message of hope.
Big business was also represented, including the South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa), the National Business Initiative (NBI), Business Unity South Africa (Busa) and the Strategic Water Partners Network (SWPN). Collectively these represent over 90% of all commercial users of water, and thus most of the job creators in our economy.
Opportunity for genuine change
We are speaking of real change under the GNU. Meaningful change that has the potential to restore investor confidence and reverse the outflow of foreign direct investment.
Without capital, no jobs can be created, so we need to avoid that scenario at all costs. This is a central element in the logic of the PWSG, so the call was made to develop four defined teams of professionals.
The information and dashboards team will develop a credible source of shared data available to all parties in a fully transparent manner. This will accelerate the digitisation of the entire water value chain that I have been speaking of for some time.
The communication and awareness team will develop the strategy to build consensus, reduce conflict and align all players using credible data developed by the information and dashboards team.
The funding and finance team will develop the strategy needed to raise the necessary cash to reduce leaks, upgrade wastewater works, and pay for infrastructure repairs and upgrades. This will create the enabling framework in which tradeable water credits, currently under development in the Middle East, might be introduced to the South African market as a viable revenue stream.
Read more in Daily Maverick: Hundreds of millions poured into addressing Johannesburg’s water woes
The fourth team is about coordinating action programmes to reduce system losses by prioritising key areas of intervention.
This is not my first rodeo, but it is exciting enough for me to stick my neck out and say that we are witnessing an inflexion point in the evolution of our democracy.
The World Bank is a lead player in the PWSG, which means that their global experience is leveraged for the first time. This suggests a transition to a more disciplined monetary regime under the GNU that is likely to restore investor confidence.
I am prepared to go on the record as saying that the PWSG is as relevant to the future success of our post-democratic national economy as Codesa was to the creation of the Constitution that ushered in our democracy. The ship is now in harbour, and soon it will depart on a voyage that will potentially take us all to a more stable future in which each citizen can realistically expect a stable job at a wage that is dignified.
I believe this is the best shot we will ever have, so I am calling this the “Era of the Rebirth of Hope”. Now is your opportunity to support the GNU and embrace the benefits of our existing Constitution. This means that we must reject any warmongering rhetoric that undermines constitutional stability.
I call on all who want a better future to embrace the Era of Rebirth and support the PWSG. The ship is in harbour, but soon it will sail. Any party left on the quay will be marginalised, for it will not return to port anytime soon. DM
Daily Maverick
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