Giwusa: Water supply situation ‘a national calamity’
The General Industries Workers Union of SA (Giwusa) has labelled the country's current water crisis as calamitous.
Residents in Gauteng have this week been subjected to level two water restrictions, which have been blamed on a combination of high consumption and the impact of load shedding.
But Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebe believes the bulk of the blame need to be laid at the feet of government’s inability to tax big corporations sufficiently.
"This came about when the government has been cutting taxes for big corporations from 48% to 50% under apartheid to where it is now.
ALSO READ: Lesufi inherits Gauteng’s unresolved problems - analyst
"At the beginning of this year the corporate tax was cut to 28% and cut it further to 27%. This means that the government doesn't have the money to fix the infrastructure."
A report released by the government in 2019 revealed that the state needs at least R1 trillion to fix the country's water infrastructure.
Sebe says governing is pandering to the interests of big corporations.
"That is the fundamental problem that this government is managing the whole economy and society in the interest of big business at the expense of the ordinary working class people."
