Bay snubs Treasury drought support
Water experts withdrawn after mayor fails to reply to deputy finance minister as day zero looms
The National Treasury has withdrawn a high-level water team dispatched to Nelson Mandela Bay and other support to reinforce efforts to stave off day zero after mayor Eugene Johnson “snubbed” deputy finance minister David Masondo.
This comes as dams are almost dry and will leave more than 100 areas across the city without water when they become empty in a few weeks’ time.
The only solution is to cut consumption drastically and immediately but Masondo revealed that Johnson had yet to meet a water demand expert seconded to the city.
In a strongly worded letter to Johnson, dated May 6, Masondo accused her of failing to respond to a letter he had sent on April 14 indicating his intention to withdraw the drought support.
After being given the cold shoulder, Masondo said he had no choice but to recall the sizeable investment the department had made in assisting the city to fight the drought.
Detailing his intentions to withdraw on April 14, Masondo lashed out at the municipality for brushing off experts dispatched by the department, officials showing a lack of interest in learning how Cape Town managed its drought, and the metro not dealing with the water crisis urgently.
“I have had to think hard about what else could be done to assist you in this crisis, but I cannot think of anything else that we have not already done, unfortunately with very little traction in the city,” he said.
“I am not able to justify keeping this support in the city if its value is not fully optimised. It is a sizeable investment to offer the level of support you have at your disposal.
“[A] lack of uptake of the leadership support and lack of recognition of the role of the expert advice that the city has received indicates to me that the city is not ready or able to absorb the support on offer to mitigate the impact of the water crisis.”
However, Johnson’s spokesperson, Tango Lamani, said she never received the correspondence from his office.
“She has since followed the matter up and is in liaison with the office of the deputy minister.”
He said Johnson would respond to Masondo within four days.
“The support from the National Treasury is always welcomed and [it] has enabled the city to push back day zero.
“We appreciate the support from the National Treasury and their officials are part of the biweekly joint operations centre meetings that sit on Mondays.”
Asked if this support remained or was withdrawn, he said: “Some of the support is still available.”
Masondo referred questions to the National Treasury’s head of communications, Cleopatra Mosana.
“[I] have received your questions and they are receiving attention,” Mosana said.
“Please note the turnaround time is 48 [hours] ... however, the inquiry is receiving attention.” The help was offered through the Cities Support Implementation Programme (CSIP), which falls under the National Treasury’s intergovernment relations division.
Masondo said the metro had lost interest in the assistance since December.
“I have not received any response from your office.
“I have also not received any form of communique demonstrating an appetite to engage on the content of the letter [April 14] as offered in the said communique,” Masondo said on May 6.
Masondo said he had no choice but to make the tough decision.
“[These governance challenges] have not made it conducive for our team to provide you with the support in a manner that will be meaningful.
“The intention for withdrawal was on the basis that the administration in the city is unable to receive support and, as such, it is difficult for any external actor to make an impact.”
In the April 14 letter, Masondo highlighted several reasons that led to his decision.
He said a peer learning exchange with Cape Town was set up and started well, with action areas given to the metro to focus on.
“Where there was traction initially, this has progressively been weakened with communication information on the drought outdated.”
Another support mechanism offered was to strengthen the “leadership capacity” of the mayoral committee.
“Critically, the key executives whose portfolios are critical in supporting mitigation measures were the ones who missed this opportunity.
“This undermined any chance that the city could mobilise itself as a coherent force to contend with the drought.”
An international advisory expert was also hired to assess the city’s decision on the viability and cost of a desalination plant, a long-term plan mooted by the metro for years.
“The conclusion of the assessment indicated that a desalination plant was not a viable short- to medium-term option for the city due to costs.” A report was sent to the municipality but no official ever responded.
“If the city goes ahead with the desalination plant despite this advice, the National Treasury guarantees that this will not be supported, so the city will have to find its own means to finance it,” Masondo said.
He also said a water demand expert was sent to the city.
“This specialist would have provided great insight on the progress the city was making in tracking efforts towards reducing demand.”
The Bay uses an average of about 270ML of water a day, which needs to be reduced to 230ML.
However, when Masondo asked how efforts to reduce demand were going, he was told no strategic advisory sessions had taken place with the Bay’s mayor.
“The few sessions she had with the accounting officer means that she is related to work on operational matters and her strategic value is not fully realised.”
He said if the water demand expert was taken seriously, informed decisions could have been taken.
“We have done this to other cities facing a similar crisis and their response was different to what I am observing from Nelson Mandela Bay, which suggests to me that this assistance is not fully appreciated for what it is worth.”
Masondo said addressing the crisis was solely in the hands of the water and sanitation department.
This, he said, led to failures to prioritise drought efforts in terms of procurement, payments, support services, printing, communications and budget allocations.
“Unless items are escalated to the city manager’s office, there has been no sign of urgency.”
He said departments were asked to prioritise initiatives in reducing demand and informing residents.
“But there is little progress in evidence since December.”
He said the National Treasury’s deputy director-general of intergovernment relations, Malijeng Ngqaleni, met the municipality in February to assist in taking decisive steps to address the drought.
A four-step process was set out to continue the CSIP, which included:
● The mayor signing a water resilience pledge within three months;
● Council adopting a water business turnaround and water resilience strategies with clear targets;
● Putting in place the technical skills to implement the strategies; and
● Signing a financing agreement for infrastructure support for the city’s water resilience plan in 24 months.
It is not clear if these steps have been taken by the metro.