FREEDOM LINKED TO WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

AS THE pendulum of freedom continues to swing in favour of levelling the playing field, the democratic rights that many South Africans strove to achieve against all odds are now being reversed and cancelled out by counter-productive acts that lay waste to the country’s foremost infrastructure.

One item after the other, the water infrastructure is targeted and damaged, with the result that there is a heavy price to be paid for achieving equity and redistribution of water resources. As this continues unabated, the water security for the future and the country’s economic prosperity and development priorities hang in the balance.

Besides trampling on other people’s rights, which we are celebrating throughout the month of April, we are plunging the goals of our developmental state into disarray that may take us decades to recover from. Considering that our water resources are under immense pressure, there is a need to deal decisively with the destruction of water infrastructure. Any strategies to plan, manage, protect and control the use of water resources will not yield any positive results if the malicious destruction of infrastructure is left to continue.

In the face of exponential growth in our population, we must ensure that water security provides impetus to economic growth and development, especially for those who are still on the periphery of the economy.

The reality that escapes the vandals that destroy and steal from water infrastructure is the cost associated with putting up this infrastructure. Building and refurbishing this infrastructure comes with a hefty price tag. It takes years and years of committing financial resources to successfully restore them to their original state.

For instance, the operations at 25 of Cape Town's sewage pump stations that have recently been affected by theft and vandalism is estimated to be R30 million for operating cost, including repairs and hiring of mobile equipment to reduce sewer overflows.

The municipality also has to deal with damage at Site B, which is estimated to cost R6m to reconstruct the pump station and for other related costs. The damaged infrastructure serves about 8 000 households in Site C and a part of Site B in Khayelitsha.

However one looks at this, it not only takes away funding meant for other priorities, but impacts negatively on the freedom of residents to lead healthy lives. More importantly, it also robs communities of much-need work opportunities that could have been created or that exist, as businesses are reluctant to invest in areas that are overrun by sewer spillages.

Another factor that compounds our water situation is the persistent drought in some parts of the country. Presently, in Nelson Mandela Bay there are fears of a looming day zero as dams continue to float at dangerously low levels. Add the vandalism of water infrastructure into the picture, and the situation is dire to contemplate.

The seriousness of vandalism and stripping of parts from water infrastructure is such that when communities’ rights are negatively affected, they angrily take to the streets with horrible consequences.

Our water infrastructure profoundly impacts the transformation of society and to extract the poor from the morass of poverty.

Thus, the celebration of April as Freedom Month provides an opportunity to ensure that the impoverished in our society are not robbed of a resource that should sustain them.

Persisting to damage not only the water infrastructure but all of our infrastructure is to trample on the people’s freedom for a better life.