Cold water on 'drought tax'

The City of Cape Town has been slammed for its plan to introduce a new water levy, or "drought charge", early next year.

The city council will discuss on Tuesday a proposal that some property owners pay at least an additional R35 a month for water.

According to the plan, property owners whose houses are valued at R600,000 will pay R35 a month and owners of commercial properties valued at R500,000 will fork out R60.

The city plans to raise R1-billion a year for the next four years to fund its water augmentation plans.

But the levy has been criticised by business, ratepayers and opposition parties.

Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Janine Myburgh said the proposal was disappointing.

"The city council's kneejerk response to a crisis of this nature is to put up the price of water and now it wants to add drought penalties. Once again the people of the Western Cape have to pay for poor planning by the national government," she said.

Yaseem Meyer, chairman of the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance, slammed the city's drought planning.

"It is a problem for the community to [charge so] much, but we do need water and we need to make a plan before [the drought] worsens.

"I think the city needs to look at plans and maybe ask the national government to pay," he said.

ANC leader on the city council Xolani Sotashe agreed with Meyer, saying the city had ignored a report it commissioned that called for stringent measures to deal with water scarcity.

"People are being abused because of the city's recklessness when it comes to [the drought]. We have made [these points] on previous occasions."