Water Tap Often Shut to South Africa’s Poor

In an attempt to lessen the government's financial burden from household utilities, the South African government has decided to privatize public water operations and start cutoff standards and water-pricing. According to some government officials, this new policy can give people the incentive to lower their consumption and not to waste resources. However, many people in low-income families are protesting, and critics are strongly opposing this policy, saying that in a highly unequal society like South Africa, "a policy of cost recovery … would exclude the poor from access to that basic commodity." – YaleGlobal