4 ms·
Hear hear! The City of Cape Town nearly ran out of water a couple years ago. We all learnt to use much less water. People invested in rain harvesting water tank
by mmsimanga 7y ago
Hear hear! The City of Cape Town nearly ran out of water a couple years ago. We all learnt to use much less water. People invested in rain harvesting water tanks and grey water systems. Well as a reward for saving so much water the city has now imposed a "water tax" [0] to cover up for the revenue shortfall because we are not using enough water. Parking bays that have been around in the city for over 100 years are now require you to pay a hefty fee to park. Cities are just becoming too expensive and my own personal gut feeling is that there probably to many city managers wanting to earn bonuses by increasing revenue collection.
[0]https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/cape-town-water-tax-what-will-you-pay/ https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/cape-town-water-tax-wha...
- JoeAltmaier 7y agoWith you up to the conspiracy theory at the end. Doesn't take a conspiracy; just a need to pay for what things are costing.
- mmsimanga 7y agoI guess in Africa we always suspicious of public officials. Agree with you, I presented no evidence on the conspiracy but we do have loads of examples of corruption at spectacular scale.
- uwuhn 7y agoGovernment official salaries (and bonuses, and stipends) are costs, though.
- mmsimanga 7y agoThe point I was trying to make which I didn't do so well is I might object to private companies such Apple or MS increasing prices. I can always opt out of their products. When it comes to services such as water I don't expect government to want to make a profit. I don't have an alternative water supplier. The rate at which the prices of such services is increasing is higher than the rate at which our salaries are increasing.
- JoeAltmaier 7y agoBut at what rate is the water cost increasing? The infrastructure can be a fixed cost. With decreased consumption (grey water conservation etc), fewer are paying for the existing water. So the price goes up. That part makes some sense.
- mmsimanga 7y agoSomewhere there is balance that the city must find. I don't agree that the reward for using less water is a higher price of water.
- hgoel 7y agoI think you're trusting the government too much. Even if they aren't exactly making a profit, how much of that money is just being wasted due to poor planning and/or corruption?
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- xkcd-sucks 7y agoCareerism doesn't require a conspiracy