Solar success shows path to fix water crisis with incentives

My approach to thorny service delivery problems is inspired by the story of the fly in a bottle. It keeps trying to fly forward but hits the glass again and again. But the bottle is open – all it has to do is look up and fly out.

The philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, used this image to show how we can solve problems by looking at them differently.

It helps to be open to innovation and clear thinking. In 19th-century London, it was thought that cholera was spread by bad air. Doctors told people to close windows on foul nights and clean the air by burning tar or vinegar.

But John Snow showed the 1854 cholera outbreak was linked to those who used a contaminated water pump. Cases were cut dramatically by removing the pump handle. It’s not always so simple, especially where extensive building is required or vested interests collide.

But the pragmatic approach usually scores over ideology. Poverty was rife in China until Deng Xiaoping declared “it doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice” and launched free economic zones that raised living standards spectacularly.

It is estimated that R400 billion is needed to fix the backlog of water and sanitation infrastructure in the worst municipalities in South Africa. This compares to R26 billion for the entire annual budget allocated to water and sanitation services.

Treasury cannot afford the money directly, but tax incentives can do amazing things. They assisted mightily with the electricity crisis when companies could claim an upfront 125% tax deduction for renewable energy projects.

This sparked off a private energy boom, adding 2 600MW in 2023, which is more than 1 900MW of Koeberg nuclear power station.

To date, private rooftop solar totals 9 400MW. This is nearly as much as the combined 9 600MW of Eskom’s giant Kusile and Medupi mega-stations, that cost more than R400 billion and took 17 years to build.

Tax incentives for private water recycling, wastewater treatment, leak reduction and rainwater harvesting could alleviate water shedding in the same way as load shedding has become a thing of the past.

We cannot afford to keep buzzing against the glass while our taps run dry.

By abandoning old thinking, we can find the opening in the bottle by unleashing private capital and initiative to solve our water crisis.