State ignored water alarm bells for 47 years

IN A RECENT radio advert, it was stated that World War III will not be fought over gold or oil, but over water. Water is a resource we have taken for granted over the years, but we were informed that our dams will run dry on April 12.

Yet, the possibility of our country running out of water has been known to the Department of Water Affairs for more than 47 years. Yes, 47 years.

In 1970, FA Venter, a prominent Afrikaans writer, was commissioned by the then minister of water wffairs to write a report on water in South Africa. The 568-page report highlighted that drastic measures were needed to prevent the country from running out of water by the year 2000.

Under the apartheid government blacks were forced into Bantustan states and their movements were strictly controlled via pass laws. This implies that the Nationalist government most probably did not take the large black population into account when planning infrastructure. When a democratic government was ushered in, in 1994, black people were granted full citizenship.

One would have expected the ANC government to prioritise the acquisition and preservation of water in order to avoid a crisis as predicted by Venter’s report. However, the ANC government turned a blind eye to the disturbing facts. It appears there was no effort by the government to build more dams.

Was the current government sound asleep? After all, alarm bells were ringing 47 years ago about a possible water crisis around the year 2000? How many dams have been built by the current government? Should people die once taps run dry, can their relatives take the government to court for causing their deaths as a result of its inaction?