Water Crisis in Cape Town and how a Capitalist Approach could Solve the Issue

In this paper, I address the water crisis in Cape Town, South Africa, and how I believe a capitalist approach could help save them from day zero. According to www.study.com, South Africa gained its independence on May 31, 1961. In 1910, the British created the Union of South Africa. South Africa is ranked 4 out of 47 sub-Saharan African countries and overall, is above world averages. South Africa’s population is around 55.9 million people. Its GDP is $739.4 billion and its GDP per capita is around ,225.

Overall, South Africa is a fairly stable country and is one of the world’s largest exporters of gold, platinum, and many other resources.

Water shortages can be caused by climate change, changing weather patterns, including droughts or floods, increased pollution, and increased demand and overuse of water. A water crisis is a situation where the available unpolluted water within a region is less than the region’s demand. This water crisis is brought about by a mixture of these, including drought and population increase. Water is a necessity for every living being, especially for the human race. We use water every day to wash our hands, our bodies, and our teeth. We drink it and use it for many more things. Many people think of water as being in abundance and believe that we will never run out because 71% of the earth’s surface is water.

For Cape Town, the story is very different. Every day is another day closer to a city of 4 million being completely out of water. This country could do more to help its citizens but is struggling to do so for the citizens of Cape Town. The most this government can do is apply restrictions and enforce new laws. However, a capitalist approach could do more than many think. It could bring in a huge pay off for capitalists and possibly solve a major water crisis. When water is so cheap and is made out to seem in abundance, it is almost a goldmine for capitalists to make a major profit off of while helping people continue to get the water they need. For example, a wealthy capitalist could come in and build a saltwater desalination plant, providing an excellent scenario of supply and demand.

Capitalism is tied into my topic because I see this issue as a way for any business to step in and help the government by providing ideas and ways for Cape Town to overcome the water crisis. Any smart businessman who adheres to capitalist culture could see that if there is a profit to be made on something like this, the potential profit is tremendously high, and there is a vast margin for supply and demand. In Chapter 6 of the book, when it speaks of hunger, thirst could be viewed as a new issue that future generations, and obviously people now, are facing.

South Africa has implemented some new rules in the wake of the water crisis. The government is implementing stricter restrictions to conserve as much water as possible. City officials want the daily consumption of water to drop from 613 million liters to 500 million liters. They’ve implemented a policy that farmers have to use 60% less water than they previously used, and water officials have slowed water pressure down to just a trickle to prevent water waste from leaking pipes. Residents of Cape Town are limited to 50 liters a day; to put it into perspective, 50 liters is about one half-full bath. These policies were put in place to ensure that everyone gets enough water each day for their necessities and to stretch the “day zero” deadline as long as possible.

The citizens who have been struggling the most with these implementations are the commercial farmers. Not only do humans have to cope with less water, but so does agriculture. Commercial farmers have strict rules on water consumption, and if they do not follow these rules, penalties will be imposed. These penalties include hefty fines and the installation of water management devices on their farms. According to Cape Town’s new laws, “In terms of the Water By-law (2010) and Amendment (2018), you could be issued a fine by the City if you contravene water restrictions. Repeat offenders may be summonsed and prosecuted.”

There aren’t many positive outcomes of a water crisis, but for Cape Town, one positive aspect is that their government is working diligently to try and stretch resources and conserve as much water as possible. Now the negative aspect is that those who in the past took water for granted, as many of us do, have to make do with 50 liters per day. It’s a lifestyle change that the people of Cape Town must grapple with. On top of this, farmers may go out of business because their crops may perish from a lack of sufficient water. Food supplies may dwindle as well because of plant deaths resulting from this ongoing three-year drought which started in 2015.

I would argue that this is more of a transformationalist perspective on this situation because if a capitalist approach were applied so that a business could help solve the water crisis while benefiting economically, it would technically be saying it is okay to homogenise culture globally. If it were a skeptical perspective towards globalization in this issue, many might argue against capitalist intervention in the crisis and insist on local resolution.

What I have found is that capitalism is a very beneficial economic ideology and should be practised globally. I firmly believe that a capitalistic approach to Cape Town’s water crisis could alleviate the tariffs imposed on water and halt the implemented policies that limit water consumption per household to 50 liters a day. This topic that I chose is not intrinsically about capitalism, but I wrote about it because capitalism can help solve this issue. The nature of capitalism promotes excellence and creates a more diverse and prosperous society wherein the affluent can assist the government when necessary.

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