Cape Town city manager given special powers to deal with water crisis
26 October 2017
Cape Town - The Cape Town city manager will now be able to make drought-related decisions without following council’s usual statutory procedures or permission requirements, in a bid to make swift action possible when dealing with the water crisis.
Council on Thursday agreed to delegate its authority to Achmat Ebrahim to issue directions in terms of the Disaster Management Act.
According to the recommendation, certain aspects of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act, the Municipal Finance Management Act and Supply Chain Management regulations, as well as the council’s own Supply Chain Management Policy, failed to adequately provide for the City of Cape Town to "deal effectively and timeously" with the disaster.
"This includes, for example, the procurement of desalination plants necessary to provide fresh water supplies, which are necessary to supplement existing water sources and thereby avoid and minimise the effects of water shortages," it reads.