Cape Town’s burgeoning water crisis has prompted UKZN’s Dr Rudi Kimmie to collect 180 litres of water for the drought-stricken area.

Kimmie, who manages the Hub for the African City of the Future, a School of Engineering initiative, says he was prompted to get involved after realising the crisis affects us all. ‘The water crisis in the Western Cape is not a Cape Town problem; it’s a South African problem.  Its root causes lie in bad planning, poor governance and of course, our disregard for our natural resources.  Many of the indigent people all over the Cape Flats do not have the resources to purchase or collect water,’ said Kimmie.

Kimmie is quietly confident the collection will spur the University community into action. ‘Hopefully this initiative will encourage more academics to do research in the preservation of scarce resources, as well as develop a more caring society.’

While he is grateful to those who made the effort to donate water, he believes the response could have been better. ‘The response was either as a result of people already donating in their private capacities, or because of living in denial that it’s not a Durban problem,’ he said.

The batch of water, collected from the University community, will be transported to Cape Town by the Gift of the Givers.

In his spare time, Kimmie is involved in thought leadership seminars, skills workshops and outreach programmes.  ‘Most of my activities are student focused and recent ones include #Cocreatemycity and Snap@YOUKZN photo competition,’ he said.

Words: Raylene Captain-Hasthibeer