Mark Rountree, GOOD National Policy Officer
CAPE TOWN’S WATER TARIFF INJUSTICE EXPOSED
30 October 2019
If all Cape Town residents comply with the daily water quota recommended by the Western Cape government, those in lower income areas such as Hanover Park and Khayelitsha will pay more than double the maximum rate for water that residents in affluent areas pay.
This fundamental injustice emerged from new research using StatsSA data conducted by the GOOD Movement’s national policy officer Mark Rountree, an experienced water sector specialist (see table below).
“An average Camps Bay household using about 100 liters of water per person per day, is charged a maximum of R17 per kilolitre. An average family in Hanover Park, Khayelitsha or Wesbank using the same amount of water per person is charged a maximum of R35 per kilolitre,” Rountree found.
The average household annual income in Camps Bay is almost ten times higher than that of Hanover Park.
“Cape Town experienced a once in a thousand year low rainfall period from 2016 to 2017. When water restrictions reduced water use and water income for the city, a temporary drought levy was proposed to cover the revenue shortfall. But, in its wisdom, the DA-run city decided against the temporary levy in favour of a new tariff structure with steeply escalating costs. Although dam levels are much higher now, these tariffs were further increased for 2019/20,” Rountree said.
“It is a flawed, unjust tariff structure that perpetuates inequity and water insecurity. It over-charges the poor, who can barely afford to pay for water, while relying on the rich to use more water than they should in order to generate additional revenue for the city. Now that the details are laid bare, I do not believe the majority of South Africans would support this.”
GOOD has submitted Rountree’s research document to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate, and has appealed to the SAHRC to ensure a more just tariff structure is implemented in the city.
With the rest of the country increasingly gripped by drought, Rountree said municipalities must develop mechanisms to save water without over-burdening the poor.
Link: https://www.forgood.org.za/statements/2019/10/30/cape-towns-water-tariff-injustice-exposed
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