Mayor Eugene Johnson addresses prevailing drought concerns – NMBM

Ladies
and gentlemen,

Good day. While we
were preparing for this important event, the shocking news broke of the passing
of Mama Lillian Diedericks, a decorated struggle veteran and exemplary citizen
of Nelson Mandela Bay. We dip our banner in mourning and at the same time
celebrate a life well-lived. 

I will miss the visits to her house and the many interesting
stories from her days as an anti-Apartheid activist. She remained true to her
spirit as a social justice activist who continuously campaigned for the improvement
of the lives of others. On behalf of the municipality, Metro residents and the
political leadership, I would like to convey my sincere condolences to the
Diedericks family. We lost a worthy political icon and a dedicated campaigner
for women’s rights and equality. May her dear soul rest in eternal peace…..

I requested this press
conference to address the prevailing drought and the added pressure of an
influx of visitors that we expect from now until shortly after the New Year’s
Day festivities. Our Tourism Office forecast an 80% occupation rate of hotels,
bed and breakfasts and other accommodation facilities over this period. This
excludes walk-ins and last minute bookings which means the demand for our
already strained water resources will undoubtedly increase. 

We have already
engaged with the hospitality industry to advise all their guests of our water
restrictions and that they monitor water usage.  

We therefore must also take
our residents into confidence by advising them that we face a difficult task
ahead of us. We will have to reduce water consumption even more, while at the
same time fight a persistent pandemic by continuously washing hands and
sanitising. It is a public health issue of great concern and we remain hopeful
that we will still receive much-needed rain to break the drought and aid our
response against COVID-19. In the meantime, we have to do our level best to
conserve our current water supply as best we can. We are positive that we will
reach a point towards the middle of next year when our water augmentation
initiatives will produce enough water to reach an acceptable level of water
security for our residents and businesses alike. 

However, before we reach that
point we have to stretch our current water supply as far as possible to avoid
widespread inconvenience and a struggle to access water.

As you have seen during
the presentation by the Infrastructure and Engineering Department, we have a
budget of R363 million for borehole drilling, pump station upgrades, the
implementation of pipelines and other critical initiatives. This excludes the
money required to complete Nooitgedagt phase 3.

The payment dispute
that resulted in phase 3 of the Nooitgedagt Low Level Scheme not being
completed as planned, remains a thorny issue that requires resolution. 

We took
a decision to champion this matter with the necessary urgency. As you probably
know, the contractor stopped work. Our administration, led by the Acting City
Manager, has informed the Department of Water Affairs and Sanitation that the
municipality is willing and able to take over the project and requested
official notification and funding in this regard. My office will lean heavily on
the Acting City Manager and MMC Stag Mitchell’s team to ensure that we remind
the department of the urgency of the matter. It is literally a matter of life
and death.

If our local dams run
dry before May 2022, much of Nelson Mandela Bay will have to collect water from
water tankers for months, such as happened in late September with an extended
water outage. Thankfully we overcame that difficult period.

But, if we reduce our consumption
now, we can stretch the water in our dams until our distribution and
augmentation projects reach a critical point of completion in April 2022, so
that we are able to distribute enough water across the Metro, even when our
supply dams are empty.

It is with regret that
we have to end a tough year with another solemn reminder. However, I do so,
with the best interest of our residents at heart.
In conclusion, I would
like thank residents for adhering to social distancing guidelines, vaccination,
wearing masks in public spaces as required by law and to sanitise. Please be
careful on the roads, whether you go on holiday or stay in the Metro, and be
courteous to other road users.

I thank you.