The dire water situation in SA is being exacerbated by the “water mafia” with criminal gangs destroying municipal infrastructure so they can sell water at extortionate rates. Government urgently needs to intervene. Kasief Isaacs, Head: Private Markets at Mergence Investment Managers, comments on the situation, providing some not-readily available statistics: A local reticulation network typically serves anywhere between 100 to 1 000 customers. Deliberate damage or destruction of key components in the network could inconvenience the entire community for several hours to several days depending on the extent of the damage. The typical fee for filling a 5 000 litre Jojo tank charged by the water mafias ranges from R600 to R800. The same water purchased from a municipality would cost R40-R120 depending on their local municipal water tariffs and total volume used for the month. That makes the economics very attractive for criminals as a 28 000 litre tanker can generate more than R1 million in water sales in a day or two.
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