Battle against Day Zero paid off
R500 000 to prevent taps from running dry ‘money well spent’
WHILE Day Zero had been deferred, several zeroes were added to the bill of the publicity campaign to inform residents of the impending disaster. The DA-controlled City of Cape Town held press conferences, ran advertising campaigns on both radio and in newspapers, designed and introduced dashboards, posted leaflets to residents and rolled out party bigwigs like Mmusi Maimane to hammer their message home that Day Zero, when the City would officially run out of water, was upon us.
R500 000 later and the dreaded Day Zero has now been deferred for the next two years.
Priya Reddy, the City’s communications director, believed it was money well spent.
“The City, with the help of its residents, managed to do what few in the world have done. It averted a Day Zero. The costs to avert it versus the event happening are incomparable. The entire point of the spend was to avert Day Zero. This was done, so we consider it money effectively spent.”
She also said the City would never wilfully take any action that could be to the detriment of its residents, its income, its economy, its reputation or social stability.
“It acted within the parameters of a declared and unprecedented disaster situation,” she said. Reddy said the formalised Day Zero communication campaign was part of the City’s continuous campaigns.
It followed successful campaigns such as Save Like a Local, and the continuing Think Water campaigns had been part of the City’s unrelenting communication, awareness and behavioural change campaigns.
“Our various campaigns contributed to water consumption being halved – an unprecedented feat nationally and internationally,” Reddy said.
Day Zero was earmarked as the day the City would turn off the taps if the dams feeding the City would reach critically low levels. Following good rains, Day Zero was cancelled last month.
“In March 2018 a local disaster was declared. In subsequent months this was followed by provincial and national government disaster declarations. In accordance with the legislation, preparation in the event of a disaster had to be embarked on. Approximately R170 million was earmarked, but not spent, for this purpose and this allocation was split between operating expenses and capital funding as required,” she said.
Approximately R60 000 was spent on the two dry-run exercises. “It was our legal and moral duty to prepare and to communicate to our residents.”
Reddy said no consultants were appointed as the operation was a local, provincial and national government disaster management operation. Asked whether the money was well spent, Reddy said: “Deputy mayor Ian Neilson announced last month that Day Zero will not happen any time soon after massive water savings and recent winter rains that have filled up dams.”
Neilson said last month, provided adequate water restrictions were maintained, “the City is confident here will be no prospect of reaching Day Zero in 2019”. Water restrictions are currently on Level 6b. Last year, then minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said water restrictions would remain in place until the Western Cape dams were 85% full.