DA using 'invented Day Zero' to justify water tariff increases: ANC

LazyLion said:
So by using your same logic, you guys must be staunch ANC supporters then?
Click to expand...

Good argument there. :rolleyes:

Although I have never voted for the ANC, and have only ever voted for the DA on a national level - the ANC stand a better chance of getting my vote next year. (which is also pretty minimal)
 
LazyLion said:
Sure, their handling of the situation was fairly good, I can't say whether the increases were justified or not. My gut reaction is that they may have overestimated.
But at least you know those extra funds will now be used to actually expand the city's water network.
With the ANC they would have just pocketed the difference.
Click to expand...

I agree with you on the fact that I think had the ruling party been in charge, it would have likely been a worse. I think everyone with common sense and logic and past experience agrees with you on that.

The thing is, I don't think that is really the question here. The question is, is the water tariff increases that the DA wants to implement justified? Forget that the ANC does the exact same **** so should rather not comment.

Will they use the money for its intended purpose? I don't know. I would rather ask, what they are doing with current profits and why current profits are not adequate? Is a water tariff increase on already overpriced costs of their "services" really the solution?
 
theratman said:
So because I'm critical of the DA I'm an ANC supporter? Damn, because I've been critical of the Anc too, so that must now make me an eff supporter. The COCT bungled the water crisis along with the national government, both are to blame.
Click to expand...

Not just an ANC supporter but a staunch ANC supporter. I am getting a little jealous, such an honour has never been bestowed upon me or anyone else as far as i can remember.
 
They've attempted to use a variety of arguments to justify the higher prices. One was that they were there to discourage high use, but in reality enforcement of the restrictions should have done that. Another was that there is a fixed cost in maintaining the distribution network which needed to be recovered in spite of lower usage, but they now have a fixed charge for this purpose. They also claimed they needed extra money to cover the augmentation schemes, but then it needs to be clear that the extra money is going towards that and a clear statement on when prices will come down because the costs have been paid.

Just as a big a joke are those people who pat themselves on the back for defeating the drought charge. They didn't defeat anything. The city still effectively went ahead with it.

It also never made sense to hit people who had genuine leaks with huge bills.

TelkomUseless said:
Same with petrol decreases we have had in the past. Product/Food prices never comes down.
Click to expand...
They typically do come down.

theratman said:
The DA / COCT are just as guilty as the national government. There's more than enough evidence to show how poorly they handled the crisis.

'De Lille withheld info, interfered with projects'

"She actively withheld information, misdirected officials, delayed budget decisions, interfered with project plans and undermined the rollout of augmentation projects as a result," Madikizela charged.

"Her failure to manage this correctly and to communicate accurate information has played a material role in the current public panic and negatively impeded the City’s response to the current crisis."

https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/...who-for-cape-towns-water-crisis-woes-20180131

“What I’m saying is that the DA government under the leadership of Patricia de Lille certainly failed to execute their duties in proper manner when dealing with the water crisis in the city of Cape Town,” she added.

https://www.enca.com/south-africa/das-mazzone-blames-de-lille-for-cape-town-water-crisis

The DA bungled the water crisis, just go have a read through the water crisis thread.
Click to expand...
It was a major mistake not to remove de Lille sooner. She simply doesn't belong in a position of authority and while there were hints at her grandstanding and autocratic tendencies prior to this the crisis made it abundantly clear. And the DA leadership knew this before it became public knowledge.

xrapidx said:
How did they do that? They did nothing besides make it residents problem, and now they want residents to pay for the pleasure.

It seems the DA is capable of doing nothing, because its always "national" governments fault.
Click to expand...
They are constrained by the law. Their key failure in this regard was not communicating what they were doing to try to force the national government to do their part.

Other aspects of mishandling the situation were hoping for rain in 2017, putting augmentation on hold and starting summer off with less restrictions than necessary.
 
noxibox said:
They are constrained by the law. Their key failure in this regard was not communicating what they were doing to try to force the national government to do their part.

Other aspects of mishandling the situation were hoping for rain in 2017, putting augmentation on hold and starting summer off with less restrictions than necessary.
Click to expand...

Their plan was to make it residents problem, as it is easier than dealing with national government, with various proposals for levies - which they have successfully implemented.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - the area I live in (Blouberg) - was in better condition under ANC rule.
 
Wait till the DA eventually releases its 2019 election manifesto.
Supporters will finally realize how ANC-Lite they have become over the last five years, and will leave in their droves.

The DA is imploding because its trying to be too many things for too many people across the socio-econo-politco spectrum.

Without the big Zuma boogieman to unite people under its umbrella, it has no attraction.
While it has raging in-fighting, it has no attraction.
While is uses any excuse to raise rates and taxes (levies), it has no attraction.
While its pretty boy Councillors are only seen at special events where they can be snapped on social media and not on the street doing service delivery and maintenance, it has no attraction.
 
Last edited:
xrapidx said:
Their plan was to make it residents problem, as it is easier than dealing with national government, with various proposals for levies - which they have successfully implemented.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - the area I live in (Blouberg) - was in better condition under ANC rule.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%

After being months abroad, I can see the degradation of the city from when I left.
It's full of litter, thousands of vagrants are camping illegally on any open space they can find, and more brazen traffic offenses everywhere you look. Its getting very third world, fast.
 
xrapidx said:
Their plan was to make it residents problem, as it is easier than dealing with national government, with various proposals for levies - which they have successfully implemented.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - the area I live in (Blouberg) - was in better condition under ANC rule.
Click to expand...

Knysna and George ratepayers are lamenting, the same. When last have gutters been cleaned in the city ? The "floods", in residential areas, last week was direct result of the damn things not been cleaned! In general the city has become dirtier...grass has not been cut along the N1.
 
yebocan said:
Knysna and George ratepayers are lamenting, the same. When last have gutters been cleaned in the city ? The "floods", in residential areas, last week was direct result of the damn things not been cleaned! In general the city has become dirtier...grass has not been cut along the N1.
Click to expand...

Yip - it took me over four months to get them to spray for cockroaches. I kept treating my house, with the pest controllers telling me I'm wasting my money until the city spray outside. I'd sent them photo's of hundreds of roaches in the street at night.

Tried to get pot holes filled, road maintenance would phone and tell me its not their responsibility, and close the service request - I was meant to log it under "pot holes" - which wasn't an available category at the time, and something "road maintenance" couldn't comprehend.

Even the city ombudsman is useless, you get a letter confirming you complaint, and that it'll be addressed within 90-days - and nothing after that, follow up with them - and you get ignored.
 
LazyLion said:
Sure, their handling of the situation was fairly good, I can't say whether the increases were justified or not. My gut reaction is that they may have overestimated.
But at least you know those extra funds will now be used to actually expand the city's water network.
With the ANC they would have just pocketed the difference.
Click to expand...

Why then did they not increase tariffs years ago to expand the city's water network? Many people saw this coming from miles off, even people on MyBB were talking about it yonks ago.

Nah this is a DA stuff up too. They can't fob this one off 100% onto the ANC.
 
I see they're still trying to blame the high tariffs on the national government. Must have been quite a negotiation to get the national government to accept lower increases, considering their desperation to increase tax revenue. And what a golden opportunity to get tax money out of a DA controlled city. Is it really national government setting these tariffs as the city is now effectively claiming?

There was plenty of mismanagement when the ANC controlled Cape Town. However I suspect that the DA is starting to suffer the same problem as the ANC national government - they don't really think they can lose enough of the popular vote to lose control of Cape Town. Hence they think they can do as they please and allow services to slip. It doesn't help that they appointed a loose cannon like de Lille as mayor.

They also looked like idiots when it became clear they hadn't really tested their stated plans for Day Zero.

Another problem is that some percentage of the population will become habituated to their monthly water bill if they keep up the current prices long enough. If the cost per kilolitre halves, as it will if they move to a lower restriction level, those people may simply double their usage. Which will become a convenient excuse for escalating the price of lower tiers.

xrapidx said:
Their plan was to make it residents problem, as it is easier than dealing with national government, with various proposals for levies - which they have successfully implemented.
Click to expand...
The thing is that they were fighting with the national government, but de Lille opted to keep this quiet.
 
SweetFennyAdams said:
Wait till the DA eventually releases its 2019 election manifesto.
Supporters will finally realize how ANC-Lite they have become over the last five years, and will leave in their droves.

The DA is imploding because its trying to be too many things for too many people across the socio-econo-politco spectrum.

Without the big Zuma boogieman to unite people under its umbrella, it has no attraction.
While it has raging in-fighting, it has no attraction.
While is uses any excuse to raise rates and taxes (levies), it has no attraction.
While its pretty boy Councillors are only seen at special events where they can be snapped on social media and not on the street doing service delivery and maintenance, it has no attraction.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to say that I agree with everything here. I said to my local (DA) Councillor that I have no idea who i will vote for in the 2019 or next Local Govt Elections, but i do know for a fact that it wont be the DA.

Mashaba and his cronies (the ones he hasnt fired yet because it suits the DA/EFF agenda) are useless in the greater scheme of things, they only appear out of obscurity in time to be snapped on Facebook and local papers, where they are always targeting areas where the DA has a minority... because upcoming elections right?

We need a strong, multinational, multiracial party with clear plans and policies - not a anti-ANC-kneejerk such as the DA has become.
 
noxibox said:
I see they're still trying to blame the high tariffs on the national government. Must have been quite a negotiation to get the national government to accept lower increases, considering their desperation to increase tax revenue. And what a golden opportunity to get tax money out of a DA controlled city. Is it really national government setting these tariffs as the city is now effectively claiming?

There was plenty of mismanagement when the ANC controlled Cape Town. However I suspect that the DA is starting to suffer the same problem as the ANC national government - they don't really think they can lose enough of the popular vote to lose control of Cape Town. Hence they think they can do as they please and allow services to slip. It doesn't help that they appointed a loose cannon like de Lille as mayor.

They also looked like idiots when it became clear they hadn't really tested their stated plans for Day Zero.

Another problem is that some percentage of the population will become habituated to their monthly water bill if they keep up the current prices long enough. If the cost per kilolitre halves, as it will if they move to a lower restriction level, those people may simply double their usage. Which will become a convenient excuse for escalating the price of lower tiers.


The thing is that they were fighting with the national government, but de Lille opted to keep this quiet.
Click to expand...

The city council set the tariffs - I have very good memory that they voted through the proposal.
 
FFS I was gonna vote FF+ provincially and DA nationally to teach the DA a lesson.

Seems that won't do, they need a harder lesson. Cape Party provincially and FF+ nationally it is!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X