Boreholes dry up, rumours abound as Govt. says R670 million needed for relief
The department’s report revealed that nine districts — uMkhanyakude, Ilembe, uThukela, uThungulu, Ugu, uMzinyathi, Harry Gwala, uMgungundlovu and Zululand — required a combined R388 million, the agricultural sector R36 million and KZN Cane Growers Association (CGA) R250 million in drought relief.
OVER 80% of boreholes in KwaZuluNatal have dried up, rivers are at a trickle if flowing at all, dam levels are dropping rapidly, and crop and livestock are threatened.
In addition, the provincial government only has about half the money it will need to address the situation.
This was the dire situation painted by the KZN government yesterday as the province’s water resources quickly evaporate into the air.
The Dundee area has been hard hit by water cuts with some areas being ‘water shedded’ from around 8.30pm to 5am. There has been no clear answers from the Umzinyathi District Municipality.
Residents are also up in arms after poor water quality, water leaks and a seemingly ‘mute’ response from the authoriies.
The Witness reported that a document signed by the Department of Cooperative Governance of Traditional Affairs (Cogta) administrative heads and seen by The Witness , estimates that R670 million will be needed to alleviate the dire situation; however, little more than half of that has been raised.
The department — which heads the KZN disaster relief programme — admitted to the media that nine district municipalities have already been declared “disaster areas” by the provincial cabinet, with stringent water restrictions either operational or coming into force.
Cogta MEC Nomusa DubeNcube steered clear of blaming the province’s water infrastructure and instead said people should look towards “heaven”.
“Water losses have decreased hugely over the last few years. Yes there are issues of ageing infrastructure, but the situation we are in is not because of infrastructure; it is about water not coming from heaven,” she said.
Her department’s report revealed that nine districts — uMkhanyakude, Ilembe, uThukela, uThungulu, Ugu, uMzinyathi, Harry Gwala, uMgungundlovu and Zululand — required a combined R388 million, the agricultural sector R36 million and KZN Cane Growers Association (CGA) R250 million in drought relief.
“With climate change persisting, it is acutely evident that the province will also in [the] future experience some similar or worse droughts. Unfortunately, the province is not currently prepared for the drought hazards and thus the need to develop a drought preparedness plan to be able to deal with any future similar situations,” said the report.
