Different regions in the country affected by droughts have prompted the government to reprioritize its funds in order to deal with the looming crisis. Mr Mbulelo Tshangana, acting director-general of the Department of Water and Sanitation, convened a two-day drought intervention meeting from 8-9 January 2020 in Kempton Park to find a way of sourcing funds for mitigating drought effects at the identified hotspot areas nationwide.
The meeting was held with managers and executives from the Department of Water and Sanitation, water entities and Ministry of Human Settlements. The meeting comes after Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s visit to the drought stricken Eastern Cape. Minister Sisulu instructed Tshangana to immediately find a budget that would alleviate distress in areas faced with acute challenges.
According to the department some parts of the country such as Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape, and some areas in the Northern Cape are still experiencing water challenges which have adversely impacted on the supply of water to communities despite rainfalls.
Hotspot areas are currently being assisted through provision of water by means of water tanks and the drilling of boreholes. These short-term interventions are being implemented in the hope of providing some form of relief.
“This exercise is to find money from the Departmental Grants that will be utililsed for drought intervention at the affected areas. Drought challenges in the country affect us at the department and the water sector as a whole. It is therefore important that we take a collective streamlined approach of solving the problem of drought”, explained Mr Tshangana.
