Innovation holds water
WATER and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has commended cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco (BAT) for heeding the government’s call and implementing best practices to save water.
In these politically charged times where corporates, especially the big multinationals, are seen in some quarters as enemies of the proverbial persons in the street, it is possible that some could seek to dismiss the cigarette manufacturer’s innovation. It is not inconceivable that the minister might be condemned for supping with the latest ogre of our political lexicon, white monopoly capital. That will be a serious error of judgement. We should, in fact, challenge other big industries to find ways that can replicate BAT’s commendable efforts.The company spent R6 million on a stormwater harvesting system, saving 200 million litres of water over the past two years. In a waterscarce country such as South Africa, this is not to be sniffed at. Water is too precious a resource to be used for political or ideological football games.
The recent rains in the northern and central parts of the country, welcome as they are, should not lull citizens there into a false sense of water security, even though water restrictions have been lifted there.
As Mokonyane noted of those areas: “Investing R6m to put up this infrastructure is a good investment for our future because what is of importance is that we might have good rain, the Vaal River might be full but there is no guarantee that there will be water tomorrow.”
And that’s not to forget that there are still some parts of our country hit by drought, most noticeably in our own backyard. Two weeks ago Mayor Patricia de Lille declared the city a disaster area. The declaration will be valid for three months, but could be extended monthly. That city’s feeder dams dropped to 30% capacity, a 1.6% decrease from the previous week.
While the north has overflowing dams and ours are running close to empty, we must know that we are all in the same boat. Economic hardships that would be visited upon this province and city, heaven forbid, will be felt countrywide as a result of crop failure and the migration by those literally seeking greener pastures elsewhere.