Note to editors: This is an extract of a speech prepared for delivery this evening at the Libra Hall in Bergsig, Springbok in the Northern Cape. The area has been hard-hit by water shortages in recent months.

Fellow South Africans,

It is wonderful to be here in Springbok. When we said we were going to campaign in every corner of South Africa, we meant it. As well as being one of the remotest towns in our country, Springbok is also one of the driest.

I have heard about the water shortages here. I hear that some people were without water for over two months over the festive season. Local businesses, old age homes, schools and hospitals had to cope without any water supply from the municipality.

The scarcity of water has put peoples' health at risk and had a negative impact on peoples' livelihoods. Some people think that drought must be accepted as a way of life in places like Springbok. They think it is an act of nature and that we are powerless to do anything about it.

It is true that droughts are unavoidable. But there is a great deal we can do to make sure that there is enough water - even during the dry season when demand is at its peak. With the right infrastructure and the right plan, municipalities can successfully manage drought so that nobody has to go without water.

To say that the Nama Khoi municipality could have done more here to manage water scarcity is an understatement. Yesterday, I spoke to a local business owner who employs 7 local people at his guest house. He told me that, in 2008, he was without water for 5 days over the December dry season. A year later, in 2009, he had no water for 14 days. Last year, in 2010, he had no municipal water for two months in a row.

You know better than I do that the water shortages are getting worse here. And it is not because the drought is getting worse. It is because the municipality - in conjunction with the Namakwa Water Board and the Department of Water Affairs - is failing in its basic duty to ensure that the people of Springbok have water.

In 1997, it was reported that it would cost R5 million to upgrade the pipeline that supplies water to Springbok from Henkries on the Orange River. Ten years later, in 2007, the pipeline still wasn't upgraded. But the cost of doing so had escalated to R120 million.

This year, the Municipal Manager said that it would cost R500 million to upgrade the pipeline - 100 times more than it would have cost in 1997. According to the national government's Blue Drop report which assesses how municipalities manage the quality of their drinking water, the Nama Khoi municipality's rating dropped from 70% in 2009 to 25% in 2010. The national government says that the steep decline in water quality is because of, and I quote, "inadequate preparation" by the municipality.

This is what happens when a municipality fails to get the basics right. What begins as a minor problem that is easy and inexpensive to fix, develops into a full-blown crisis. And it is a water crisis here in Springbok.

It is tragic that the patients at the Dr van Niekerk Hospital, the senior citizens of the Huis Namakwaland and Harmony Home for the aged and the children attending the Primêre Skool Springbok have to go without water for long periods at a time.

The School had to use R12 000 of its own funds - money that could have been spent on learner resources such as text books - to install a water tank. The Huis Namakwaland old age home managed to secure private donations to build a water tank on its premises. The hospital has not been so fortunate - the families of patients had to bring water for their loved ones during the dry season.

Who knows how long you will be without water this coming dry season? It could be four or five months this time. And the impact of climate change could make water scarcity an even greater challenge in the future. We need to be prepared for this. And so we must do what we can, where we can, to mitigate the effects of climate change.

It doesn't have to be like this here in Springbok. You don't have to go without water. Every municipality should have a plan to upgrade infrastructure to cope with wear and tear and increased demand. It is estimated that up to 30% of water is lost because of leaking pipes.

Every municipality should have in place by-laws to manage and reduce consumption. In drought-stricken areas, the demand-side is as important as the supply-side. Every municipality needs to be innovative when it comes to water conservation and treatment. Rainwater harvesting and the treatment of sewerage water to be re-used for irrigation purposes are just two ways of doing this.

And every municipality needs to have an early warning system in place to detect impending water shortages and breaks in infrastructure. Each municipality must develop a good working relationship with the water board and, if necessary, lobby the national government to make sure that the bulk infrastructure is maintained.

The DA is no stranger to drought in the places it governs. In the Eden District last year, we worked to offset the worst drought since records began 132 years ago. We did this in partnership with national and provincial government, through a combination of demand reduction, borehole exploration, the indirect re-use of effluent and the construction of a desalination plants in Sedgefield, Mossel Bay, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to drought management. Different areas have different challenges which require different solutions. But the point is that solutions can always be found if there is the political will to find them.

The DA can win the election in Springbok on May 18. If we are elected into office, we will make the water crisis here our number one priority. We will seek ways to fund the required upgrade of the water pipeline by properly prioritizing the budget. We will pass the required by-laws to manage water consumption. We will put in place a plan to fix the pipes that leak water into the ground.

We will look at rain-harvesting, water reclamation plants and even desalination plants to increase the supply of water to this area. We will not allow people's lives and their livelihoods to be destroyed by drought. Over time, we believe that we can solve the water crisis here.

So give us a chance to show you what we can do. After all, you have nothing to lose. You can choose five more years of mismanagement, declining infrastructure and increasing water shortages. Or you can choose the DA.

So, whatever you do, make sure you vote on the 18 May. And vote DA. Because the DA delivers for all!

Issued by the Democratic Alliance, April 7 2011

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