In 1994, the South African government abandoned its Reconstruction and Development Program that ensured that natural resources, such as water, would be accessible to all citizens irrespective of race or class (Mackinnon, 2005). Forsaking this original mandate, the national government now allowed water bureaucrats the authority to provide water only if there was a full cost recovery of operating and maintenance costs (Mackinnon, 2005). Upon advice from international financial institutions and Western governments, the South African government decreased grants and subsidies to local municipalities forcing them to eventually turn to commercialization and privatization of basic services to make up for the lost revenue (Mackinnon, 2005). Many municipalities began signing contracts with large US and European water firms after heavy lobbying efforts from these private transnational companies (Mackinnon, 2005). In January 2001, the Johannesburg metro privatized their water services and signed a five-year contract with French water company Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux (Mackinnon, 2005). The municipality maintained that by contracting out their water services, they would see an increase in accessibility to water increased efficiency in management (Mackinnon, 2005). However, residents of Black townships in Johannesburg began to see a deterioration in their basic human rights, health and dignity that they were forced to contest (Bond, 2008). Green neoliberalism and the privatization of water hinders social reproduction and amplifies existing racial and classist inequalities globally and specifically in post-apartheid Johannesburg. These perverse hierarchies and their consequential discrimination are met with strong opposition from the poor who figh...
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...e pre-paid parish pump. Law, Democracy and Development 12, 1, pp. 1–28.
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...f South African language and culture, acknowledgement of the racial oppression in South Africa, past and present, that it was wrong and positive action is required to make it right, and finally that all South Africans are legitimate and enjoy full moral equality (“About – DA”). In order for all this to be possible, the state must ensure it does not compromise the freedom of the individual (“About – DA”).
Maude Barlow’s “Water Incorporated: The Commodification of the World’s Water” gives a voice to a very real but vastly unknown issue: the privatization of water. I refer to it as vastly unknown because it wasn’t until this article that I was even aware such a power struggle existed. Barlow first introduces startling statistics, meant to grab the attention of its reader. Once she has your attention, she introduces the “new generation of trade and investment agreements.” (306) This includes referencing many different acronyms such as, FTAA, NAFTA, GTAA and WWF. FTAA, NAFTA, and GTAA are the villains of this story. Simply put, the privatization of water would end in socioeconomic turmoil and dehydration worldwide.
The numerous regions included in this film extend from all corners of the world to show just how relevant and important urbanization is. Gary and his team visited countries such as South Africa, China and Brazil while speaking with law makers, political officials and architects in an attempts to understand the logic
The World Bank has had many controversial operations in their history. Their existence has been rife from inclusions into conspiracy theory, all the way to globalization activists of which the current president of the World Bank once was (World Bank President Jim Yong Kim: The Vice News Interview). While some of the allegations towards the group might be exaggerated, they are far from freedom of scrutiny. In particular is the exceptional case of the Chixoy Dam in Guatemala, of which it is difficult to imagine a worse outcome.
Although water is all around, very little is drinkable. Six billion people live on earth and 1.1 billion in 31 countries are unable to access safe, clean drinking water. California has only 20 years of water supply left. Ironically, even the wettest place on earth, Cherrapunji, India, has often water shortages. After years of millions of people dying of thirst and disease, a corporate movement to find a solution to the water crisis has now swept the world. Water, a fleeting resource vital to every life, every single day of the year, is now being taken out of the governments control and becoming a commodity bought and sold by big business, a.k.a privatization.
Failure to resist the consuetude of tyranny was seen in the apartheid regime that was allowed to rise in South Africa, “with its explicit policy promoting white supremacy” (Cooper 2002, 1). As a result of this establishment, non white Africans were forced to live separate and in poor conditions for years by the all white government. This yet again encumbered any chance for augmentation of self and society for the African people. While the rest of the world was creating mass transit and health care systems, Africa was being held down, it’s potential to develop as a state of power and influence,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2000). The IMF and the World Bank: puppets of the neoliberalism onslaught. Retrieved April 05, 2014, from MIT website: http://www.mit.edu/~thistle/v13/2/imf.html
Since the beginning, water has been observed as the premier source of life; which is why nowadays there are several organizations fighting to make water accessible to those who need it most, Water For Africa, is an example of an organization that strives to make potable water available in the underprivileged regions of Africa. Water, however, is a need even in developed countries, that’s why organizations like The Council of Canadians aid in the distribution of clean water to the indigenous population of Canada. Canada is seen as an aiding country by their humanitarian acts, but its dark secret is revealed thus the controversy of its federal government has been sprung. Canada promises and guarantees water accessibility as a human right to its
Inequalities in wealth and standards of living have always been quite different around the world. With development, this could change. Clean, accessible water is a marker for a town’s standard of living, and countries around the globe have different methods for providing water to their citizens. Water privatization grows more popular globally, and its negative effects can be evaluated in places like Bolivia. In Cochabamba, Bolivia, the Water War gives depth to the world water crisis and how private ownership of water can harm citizens. From this war, we learn that water is destined to be redefined, the distribution of water has to be dealt with on a case by case basis, and the government needs to be compelled to keep themselves or other companies
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In an age when man has forgotten his origins and is blind even to his most essential needs for survival, water along with other resources has become the victim of his indifference. South Africa, one of the most advanced countries in Africa, with a thriving economy based on technology and agriculture, is currently facing a downward slope in terms of water availability.
WaterAid (2008).Why did City Water fail: The rise and fall of Private Sector Participation in Dar es Salaam’s Water Supply, www.wateraid.org /Accessed on Wednesday 17th December 2014.
Glazewski, J.A. 2005. Environmental law in South Africa. 2nd ed. Cape Town: Butterworth publishing. 665 p.
South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, but the constitution’s transformative nature aims to eradicate this inequality. The constitution supports substantive equality with the focus on social reconstruction. Substantive equality takes into account that some groups have previously experienced disadvantage, and that measures should be put in place to right the wrongs of the past by bringing these groups on t...