CEO Column and water sector news July 2013

Abstract

Fluid Thoughts Fluid Thoughts WRC CEO, Dhesigen Naidoo on the correct models to use. A new bulk water pricing strategy will soon be gazetted for public comment by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs. The finalisation of the raw water tariff model will stimulate a ripple of pricing strategies throughout the system, especially with the move to full implementation of charges for all water users and uses. There is a large body of opinion that supports a higher tariff system in order to sharpen the focus on the scarcity and value of water in South Africa and so entrench a culture of water conservation and demand management. The general outcry in the other direction is that higher tariff structures in the wake of the electricity price hikes, combined with the extremely high food inflation in an environment of slow economic growth and poor employment figures, will simply make water less accessible – this time economically. The argument is further reinforced by the fact that there are gross inefficiencies in the system.

Categories