Former ANC premier and ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool
writes in Daily Maverick“Day Zero is adjusted back and forth without the evidence of weather patterns, increased water sources and discernible reduction in water usage. Citizens alternate between announcements that induce panic-buying of water and scuffles at water queues, relief when Day Zero is pushed back and, soon, disregard for any warnings and appeals”.
This shifting of the date - again back, for now, to
July 9 - has confirmed for some Day Zero is, if not a hoax, unlikely to occur this year. Last week CapeTalk’s drive time host superciliously dismissed a caller who believed it would not happen this year. The caller said September (after winter) is the vital date we should be worried about. He didn’t say it couldn’t happen, but it
may not this year. And since that call, it was pushed back to July. Independently confirming that view, Mike Muller
wrote, “Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’ is not going to happen unless there is yet another year of severe drought”.
Reliable reports emanating from the city state
there is water. A desalination module is already providing 2ML a day. But the city doesn’t publicise this because people may let their guard down and stop conserving. The same reports, which previously the city also spoke of, say they
cannot completely stop the water supply because of destructive damage to the infrastructure if it’s turned off and on (water hammer aka hydraulic shock).
People have become sceptical of the city’s announcements, and with reason. They’ve shamefully politicised the crisis from the get-go and blamed householders for everything from the dropping dam levels to alleged overuse. They monitor residents’ use but let businesses, industry, etc off the hook. Their
estimated figure of “over 60%” of households that are not saving is based on “assumption” (Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson’s words) was
disputed (I also wrote an
article about it). And given their incompetence handling the disaster, they suffer from a credibility deficit.
I agree Day Zero is a useful “concept” but one that with their overall management of the crisis is not well managed. We’re told we can “defeat Day Zero”, not “prevent” it, which is the best we can hope for. If we can defeat it, why should we
not be confident it won’t happen? Conflicting messages.
Ideologically and politically, I don’t sit around the same fire as Rasool but I agree with his admonishment quoted above and “facts in the mouths of DA politicians have merely served as instruments to cry wolf”.
This shifting of the date - again back, for now, to July 9 - has confirmed for some Day Zero is, if not a hoax, unlikely to occur this year. Last week CapeTalk’s drive time host superciliously dismissed a caller who believed it would not happen this year. The caller said September (after winter) is the vital date we should be worried about. He didn’t say it couldn’t happen, but it may not this year. And since that call, it was pushed back to July. Independently confirming that view, Mike Muller wrote, “Cape Town’s ‘Day Zero’ is not going to happen unless there is yet another year of severe drought”.
Reliable reports emanating from the city state there is water. A desalination module is already providing 2ML a day. But the city doesn’t publicise this because people may let their guard down and stop conserving. The same reports, which previously the city also spoke of, say they cannot completely stop the water supply because of destructive damage to the infrastructure if it’s turned off and on (water hammer aka hydraulic shock).
People have become sceptical of the city’s announcements, and with reason. They’ve shamefully politicised the crisis from the get-go and blamed householders for everything from the dropping dam levels to alleged overuse. They monitor residents’ use but let businesses, industry, etc off the hook. Their estimated figure of “over 60%” of households that are not saving is based on “assumption” (Deputy Mayor Ian Neilson’s words) was disputed (I also wrote an article about it). And given their incompetence handling the disaster, they suffer from a credibility deficit.
I agree Day Zero is a useful “concept” but one that with their overall management of the crisis is not well managed. We’re told we can “defeat Day Zero”, not “prevent” it, which is the best we can hope for. If we can defeat it, why should we not be confident it won’t happen? Conflicting messages.
Ideologically and politically, I don’t sit around the same fire as Rasool but I agree with his admonishment quoted above and “facts in the mouths of DA politicians have merely served as instruments to cry wolf”.