Pretoria – Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane will today conduct an oversight visit to some of the areas affected by the current drought in KwaZulu-Natal.
The two-day programme will include a meeting with Provincial Premier Senzo Mchunu, MECs in the Disaster Management Committee, District Mayors of the affected Municipalities, as well as the Executive Mayor eThekwini Municipality, James Nxumalo.
The meeting will be followed by a situational assessment site visit to the UGu and Umvoti Dams.
The department said the Minister’s visit follows numerous meetings held by the Department of Water and Sanitation and the KwaZulu-Natal provincial government on fast-tracking relief efforts and unlocking interventions that ought to bring short, medium and long-term solutions to the water shortages experienced currently.
The drought situation in KwaZulu-Natal has taken a turn for the worse and the situation has resulted in the level of dams dropping.
Due to dam levels reaching critically low levels, mandatory curtailments in the distribution of water have commenced in earnest in some municipalities in the province in order to mitigate the risk to supply assurance in the short term.
The regions most impacted by the water rationing are iLembe district and eThekwini Metro.
During the visit, Minister Mokonyane will also hold engagements with the Strategic Water Partnership Network and engage members of the public on behavioural changes necessary to ensure water supply and savings. – SAnews.gov.za
