Water has been the source of many debates in Grahamstown over the past few years. What many don’t know is that in South Africa, access to water is a constitutional right and that ownership of this right has been under debate around the world for more than a decade.
Water has been the source of many debates in Grahamstown over the past few years. What many don’t know is that in South Africa, access to water is a constitutional right and that ownership of this right has been under debate around the world for more than a decade.
The notion of privatising water in SA has been contested since the days of apartheid.
Galela Amanzi and the Rhodes Debating Society held a debate at Rhodes on Wednesday night, titled 'This house will privatise the provision of basic utilities', tackling the possibility of water becoming a privatised commodity in South Africa, and the consequences this would have for underprivileged communities.
For several years, Galela Amanzi has supplied various communities in Grahamstown with rainwater tanks. Through this initiative, the NGO has been able to provide a previously neglected basic human right to citizens.
Galela Amanzi chairperson Manosa Nthunya, said, “We wanted to get students engaged on what is happening around the world. There are many countries privatising these essential services. The argument they often use is that they will be more effective if they do so. "Is this true, or does it rather lead to people being denied what we think are their basic rights?”
Issues covered in the hour-long debate included government accountability, private company incentives and service-delivery efficiency.
According to the pro-privatisation team, companies would increase the cost of water for the privileged, which would cover the losses made by providing free water to the poor.
The anti-privatisation team accused the proposing team of having delusions of grandeur.
"They seem to think that they are Robin Hood, literally stealing from the rich and giving to the poor,” the team said.
The reality, this team argued, is that if the rich were to pay more and the poor pay nothing, 30% of the country’s population would be covering the nation’s water costs.
The debate concluded that privatising resources is not the way to go.
“Not only do we have historical evidence which suggests that things should not be done this way, but private companies are in it for profit,” said Nthunya.
