Rodney Mazinter is wrong to attribute water shortages to population growth (Act now on desalination, February 21). Population growth requires more water provision, but water is scarce mostly because it is poorly priced and therefore wasted. Municipalities try to meet constitutional obligations of free water provision with progressive tariff structures. The first few kilolitres per household are free, then marginal tariffs kick in and after every few kilolitres of additional usage the rate goes up steeply. In Cape Town, a 20kl (monthly usage) household pays five times more than a 10kl one. Tariffs escalate exponentially, so a 50kl household (the threshold at which the City of Cape Town wants to name and shame you) pays 33 times more than the 10kl one! The sewage disposal tariff follows a similarly ludicrous pricing schedule, so the impact is magnified on household budgets. This works well as a redistributive technique — the city can easily afford to meet basic provision requirements ...
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