Q&A: “We Want to Take Control of Our Water”

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Interview with Patrick Findane

JOHANNESBURG, Mar 20 2007 (IPS) - In a State of the Nation address delivered in February, South African President Thabo Mbeki said his country had “already achieved the Millennium Development Goals in respect of basic water supply, with improvement of access from 59 percent in 1994 to 83 percent in 2006.”

Eight development goals were adopted during the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, in a bid to raise living standards globally by 2015. They include halving the number of people without sustainable access to potable water.

At present, a household of approximately eight people in South Africa receives some 6,000 litres of free water monthly.

However, Patrick Findane, assistant coordinator for the Coalition Against Water Privatisation, a civic group, says government’s portrayal of the progress made in increasing access to water is misleading – as the quantity provided doesn’t meet the needs of the poor.

He elaborated on this claim in an interview with IPS’s Moyiga Nduru ahead of World Water Day (Mar. 22), which this year focuses on water scarcity.

Moyiga Nduru (MN): Where do you feel the system of water provision to the poor is falling short?

Patrick Findane (PF): South Africa’s constitution says everyone has a right to safe, clean and adequate water. The poor get 6,000 litres per month, per household (but) this is not enough. The water authorities say they will increase the quantity to 10,000 litres per household. They have already started it in some areas.

MN: But South Africa is regarded as a water scarce country. Aren’t authorities trying to conserve water by limiting the amounts provided?

PF: We don’t believe there’s a water shortage in South Africa. We have enough rainfall.

MN: How does water scarcity affect the poor?

PF: Research we conducted in Soweto (a black residential area just outside of Johannesburg) between June and July 2006 shows that women and children suffer the most from want of water. In some areas, women travel up to two kilometres in the so-called new, democratic South Africa to collect water. This doesn’t make sense.

MN: Does water scarcity worsen the effects of the AIDS pandemic? (According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, adult HIV prevalence in South Africa stands at 18.8 percent.)

PF: People living with HIV/AIDS need special care. They need to be cleaned and washed; they also need to drink a lot of water. They need water to take their medication (life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs) as requested by the doctor. When you have a water-metre installed at your house you are restricted in the use of water.

Water scarcity also affects sanitation management…In parts of Soweto, people no longer flush their toilets…It’s very degrading. This is why we have taken Johannesburg Water (a city utility) and the City of Johannesburg to court. We are challenging them for denying the poor adequate access to water.

During the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, in January we found that the water problem is all over. We saw water privatisation in countries such as Ghana, Tanzania, Bolivia and Brazil. In Bolivia, there had been struggle for control of water by the communities. The water in Bolivia is now controlled by the communities. We want to do the same thing in South Africa.

While in Nairobi, we also formed the Africa Water Network, which is opposed to privatisation. Privatisation is like a vampire – it sucks the blood of the poor…We believe water is a necessity. Water should not be sold; it’s not a commodity. It’s life.