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The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber says it is concerned about the negative impact the local economy will suffer should taps run dry in parts of the Metro by July as predicted.
The Chamber said that organised business was deeply concerned about the pending water crises which is projected to impact at least a third of the Metropolitan area.
The Chamber President, Andrew Muir, said that key industrial and commercial businesses are located in zones that are projected to potentially be without water from July.
He said this was a great concern particularly in terms of the impact it will have on the local economy especially the automotive and related industry which accounts for 40 % of the Metro’s GDP.
Muir said while many businesses were urgently investing in measures to develop alternative water supply to reduce their water consumption levels, not all businesses have the resources to do so.
He also pointed out that the costs of doing business in the Metro were increasing.
"We need an enabling environment in place if we want to retain and attract investment to our Metro. This requires the involvement and commitment of a wide range of stakeholders who need to unite together with the common goal of getting the basics in place,” Muir said.
He said the Chamber also welcomed the decision taken by Council last week to approve the construction of a desalination plant.
Adding that it needed to be achieved by May next year.
According to Muir we are facing a perfect storm caused by several issues that could have been avoided, including inadequate planning and the lack of maintenance of infrastructure.
Muir also called for boreholes to be constructed urgently and be operational within the next few weeks and initiatives to fix water leaks to be dramatically increased.
The Chamber has also called on the national Government to urgently provide financial support to the Metro for drought mitigation initiatives.
It has also urged the provincial government to declare the Metro a disaster area,” In tandem with this the Eastern Cape province needs to declare the Metro as a disaster area to secure additional funding to support the implementation of these initiatives.”
A spokesperson for the SA Weather Garth Sampson says there are no major rains expected that will alleviate our severe water crisis.
Consumption remains high at around 300 megalitres a day which needs to be reduced.
