Now is not the time for politicking

CAPE Town, a top international tourist destination aspiring to be a premier worldclass city, is making global news for a very different reason. It is on the verge of becoming the first major metropole in the world to run out of water.

Many of the drought levy submissions received by the Cape Town city council asserted the crisis has been badly mismanaged. Few would differ.

Too little, too late, has been the hallmark of the city’s approach to the drought. One reason for this was misplaced faith heavy rains would fall last winter. Another was budgetary considerations – the council stood to lose revenue if water usage dropped and hence did not rush to encourage residents to acquire rainwater tanks, for example. The price-tag for desalination schemes was daunting and would have meant pet projects being put on hold.

That anyone could have thought Capetonians would buy into the notion that having reduced consumption they should pay a drought levy, reveals a startling dislocation from the electorate, not least those very householders and businesses who’ve formed the backbone of DA support.

That the DA has chosen this of all times to tear itself apart beggars belief.

This is the time for strong leadership and a united front to face down the crisis. Instead the party appears to be at war with itself and its mayor, Patricia de Lille, has had her powers challenged and is mired in the dirty laundry aired by her rivals.

The vicious in-fighting might serve the interests of ambitious politicians but is denting the party’s image. It is fair to question whether these councillors are capable of leading our city in this time of need.

The situation we face is so dire that perhaps there should be a joint emergency effort by all parties to help steer the city away from Day Zero and towards sustainable solutions, failing which provincial and national government might need to step in.