The urgent request of the City of Cape Town to cut water use is noted. However, Cape Town usage, at about 600 million litres a day (in cooler, non-tourist conditions), is going to be little affected by the (possible?) provision of about 100million litres a day.
This is not a political issue, nor is it a financial issue; it is a life-threatening crisis.
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There are rumours of desalination ships - if these exist, urgently instruct them to get here ASAP - “drink now pay later” must be the approach. A bankrupt city is better than a dead one. No life is possible without water.
It is naive to expect consumption to drop - tourists who pay large sums of money per day to visit our beautiful city cannot be told to bath or shower once in three days.
In the hot months, consumption will increase with the concomitant, ever-threatening no-water doomsday coming closer.
Cape Town citizens will be forced to move, businesses will close down. What will be the attitude of employers? Will they be forced to continue paying their staff until it rains and things can become reasonably “normal” again?
On a trivial matter, will the Cycle Tour have to be cancelled? If tourists are advised to avoid Cape Town, will the owners of the booked accommodation have to reimburse them?
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Yes, these are “prophets of doom” scenarios - too ghastly to contemplate.
Without the desalination ships, there is only one chance - unseasonal and unprecedented rain.
Sans these ships and sans rain, Cape Town will die of thirst.
* Alvin L Cope is from Rosebank
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.