{"id":67745,"date":"2024-06-04T07:05:48","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T07:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest"},"modified":"2024-06-04T08:47:42","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T08:47:42","slug":"south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s water crisis can crush the economy and spark social unrest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>South Africa is facing a water crisis that threatens to spark social unrest and cripple the economy, with parts of the country already facing shortages.<\/p>\n

Water has become an issue on par with the country\u2019s electricity and logistics crises. Experts warn that water boards are in a death spiral and estimate that it would take R1 trillion to fix the crisis.<\/p>\n

Independent political analyst JP Landman said that over the past year, water has severely constrained South Africa\u2019s economy. Gauteng, in particular, has been hard hit.<\/p>\n

South Africa\u2019s economic hub has experienced sustained water shortages since the middle of last year.<\/p>\n

Rand Water told three municipalities in the central Gauteng province \u2013 Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni \u2013 that its system was on the verge of collapse.<\/p>\n

Large parts of Johannesburg were left without water for up to 11 days at a time in March after lightning struck a pumping station.<\/p>\n

Johannesburg Water, which distributes water in the city, loses around 44% of the volume supplied to it to leaks and theft.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more that Rand Water pumps into this leaking sieve, the more they are depleting their reservoirs,\u201d said a professor at the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State, Anthony Turton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system is now starting to self-destruct,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n

Anthony Turton, professor at the University of the Free State<\/p>\n

Turton said that water shortages in Gauteng threaten the country\u2019s economy and risk resulting in social unrest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater shortages are part of a new trend where we can see that our infrastructure is not in healthy shape at all, and politicians are only waking up now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the case of Gauteng, it is a very specific issue because three major metros contain a significant portion of our national manufacturing capacity. They are all at risk from water supply disruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

This will result in the province reaching a \u2018threshold of concern\u2019 which, once crossed, will put the system at serious risk of collapse, which is unprecedented.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, when water supply is disrupted, businesses cannot operate. It means that there will also be an impact on the workforce,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou must appreciate that water is the foundation of your national economy. It is the foundation of social stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce your water infrastructure starts collapsing, you start to see things like social instability, the flight of capital out of the country, businesses collapsing, and the loss of jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a national crisis. It is an existential threat to the very viability of our national economy,\u201d Turton said.<\/p>\n

The death spiral<\/p>\n

Independent political analyst JP Landman<\/p>\n

Landman echoed many of Turton\u2019s concerns, adding that he thinks water boards are entering a death spiral in a similar form to Eskom and Transnet.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no quesiton about it. You can see the road map as clearly as you can see the stars. It is very clear that is where we are going with water,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It is going to be a situation where the private sector will have to come in and help with both the water infrastructure and the distribution of water.<\/p>\n

This is due to the water boards, which control the supply of water across the country, entering a death spiral thanks to rising prices and declining provision.<\/p>\n

The death spiral<\/p>\n

Landman likened what the country\u2019s water boards are doing to what has happened with Eskom and electricity prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cSay you are Eskom. You charge a price for the service, but then there\u2019s a problem with the service. Now you\u2019ve got to increase the price. Because you increase the price, fewer people buy it, and because fewer people buy it, you raise the price, then you are in a death spiral.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that\u2019s clearly what\u2019s happening with Eskom. And the only way out of this death spiral is the is what we\u2019re doing, the breaking up and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Landman said the same thing is happening to water distribution in South Africa, with municipalities and water boards trying to pass on price increases to customers while failing to provide the service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat model is in a death spiral, and it will be replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa is facing a water crisis that threatens to spark social unrest and cripple the economy, with parts of the country already facing shortages. Water has become an issue on par with the country\u2019s electricity and logistics crises. Experts warn that water boards are in a death spiral and estimate that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":67743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5],"tags":[274,315,275],"class_list":["post-67745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Africa\u2019s water crisis can crush the economy and spark social unrest - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"South Africa is facing a water crisis that threatens to spark social unrest and cripple the economy, with parts of the c ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Africa\u2019s water crisis can crush the economy and spark social unrest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Africa is facing a water crisis that threatens to spark social unrest and cripple the economy, with parts of the c ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T07:05:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-04T08:47:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/06\/sm_1717478020.463877.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"432\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"South Africa\u2019s water crisis can crush the economy and spark social unrest\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-04T07:05:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-04T08:47:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest\"},\"wordCount\":722,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2024\/06\/sm_1717478020.463877.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-South-Africa\",\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africas-water-crisis-can-crush-the-economy-and-spark-social-unrest\",\"name\":\"South Africa\u2019s water crisis can crush the economy and spark social unrest - 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