Water planning key, Press Club told

THE water scarcity crisis bedevilling South Africa, particularly the City of Cape Town, proves that the direct and vital link between water availability and economic development had not been fully appreciated by authorities in the country.

Addressing the National Press Club in Pretoria, Fred Platt, chief executive of JSE-listed Accentuate, said adequate planning would have been made had authorities in South Africa viewed water as the ultimate enabler.

“If you take water out of a situation, and that’s what we are seeing in Cape Town, we are seeing the risk of development just coming to a total standstill.

“People talk about Day Zero approaching… the reality is that Day Zero has been building up in Cape Town and in many other cities in this country and inhibiting development for a very long time,” Platt said.

“The cost of not having water far outweighs the cost of providing sustainable water. When we look at water as a resource, we also need to understand that water is not a commodity that you take and use, and dispose.

“Water merely moves from one state to the next, and you are merely a custodian of water for a period.”

He said before even considering processes like desalination of seawater, the populace needs to understand that the available water resources need to be managed better, including the reuse of water. – African News Agency (ANA)