SA still plagued by drought

Cabinet has raised concern that South Africa has not yet escaped the drought situation and that meaningful rainfall may only come at the beginning of next year.

The drought has been the worst in recent memory‚ affecting a number of provinces and putting the City of Cape Town in the particularly precarious position of effecting water restrictions.

In August Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Des Van Rooyen announced an allocation of more than R74m to assist the Western Cape with its drought disaster.

Government has also announced plans to assist farmers hardest hit by the drought conditions‚ including the location and drilling of bore holes and supplying animal feed.

Minister of Communications Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane told reporters during a post-cabinet briefing that the country was not out of the woods yet as it simply did not get enough rain in the past year.

“The current dam levels in the country remain a concern as there is more evaporation than rainfall. The fact that SA has not received sufficient rainfall to recharge our water sources to adequate levels means that the country is not yet out of the drought situation‚” she said.

She urged South Africans to use water sparingly.

-BusinessLIVE