DAVE CHAMBERS: How the farmers are saving Cape Town from Day Zero
'Essentially the Elgin and Grabouw farmers have offered some 8 billion litres of water to the Western Cape Water Supply System'
Mmusi Maimane must be a miracle worker. Since he appointed himself as Day Zero warrior-in-chief, the dreaded date has rapidly retreated from April 12 to May 11. Mmusi for president? Hardly. Consider the following: • Day Zero was invented by the DA-controlled City of Cape Town. The Department of Water and Sanitation opposed the concept, saying it was unhelpful panic-mongering. At a briefing 10 days ago, deputy director-general Trevor Balzer repeatedly said he was “shattered” by suggestions that citizens should start fleeing Cape Town. “We are not planning for the system to fail,” he said.• Water savings are falling short of the 450 million litres a day target yet Day Zero is vanishing into the distance at a rate of knots. • We still do not know where the City of Cape Town’s 200 water distribution points will be, yet we are supposed to believe plans for this life-threatening emergency are well advanced. • The DA is transparently — and suspiciously — absolutely desperate to get rid of ...
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