KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs attending to salty tap water supply on KwaZulu-Natal South Coast
The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has dispatched its technical and disaster management teams to the province’s South Coast where the municipal tap water supply, strained as a result of the prolonged drought, has now been reported to contain salt.
“We are aware that a number of South Coast towns, including Port Shepstone, Margate and Hibberdene, have been reporting salty tap water as a result of their municipalities’ need to pump water from rivers to replenish the diminishing water supply,” said KZN MEC for Cogta Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
The KZN Cogta is ensuring that the effects of the ongoing drought are minimised as much as possible and that all KZN communities continue to access water through emergency supplies, such as additional boreholes, water tankers or water pumps from alternative sources.
“Luckily we are not facing this crisis alone. We are receiving support from the national government as a result of the formal declaration of disaster in the whole of KZN. This has unlocked funding both from the National Department of Water and Sanitation and the National Disaster Management Centre,” said Dube-Ncube.
Government drought response to date
The initial allocation of R352.4 million was first announced last year and channelled to KZN municipalities. The implementation of specific drought relief projects is ongoing in all municipalities and the allocation of funds per district to date are as follows:
|
District |
Allocation |
|
Ugu |
R 35 000 000.00 |
|
Umgungundlovu |
R 25 000 000.00 |
|
Uthukela |
R 23 000 000.00 |
|
Umzinyathi |
R 31 400 000.00 |
|
Zululand |
R 37 000 000.00 |
|
Umkhanyakude |
R 91 000 000.00 |
|
Uthungulu |
R 48 000 000.00 |
|
Ilembe |
R 37 000 000.00 |
|
Harry Gwala |
R 25 000 000.00 |
|
Total |
R 352 400 000.00 |
The KZN Cogta has appointed Umgeni Water and Umhlathuze Water to fast-track the procurement and distribution of water tankers to the identified municipalities who are responsible for the installation of static water tanks, spring protection, upgrade of water supply systems, boreholes, water tankering and programme management.
Subsequently, a further amount of R91.3-million was allocated to KZN bringing the total drought relief allocation to the province to date to R443.7-million. Of this, R172.2-million has been spent on the purchase of 45 water tankers and water tankering services by municipalities.
In addition, the National Disaster Management Centre has allocated a further R24.6-million to KZN municipalities for the drilling of boreholes and installation of micro water supply schemes and hand pumps. The Department of Agriculture has also contributed a sum of R6-million towards drought relief and these funds are earmarked for animal fodder.
The funding from NDMC has been allocated as follows:
|
Umgungundlovu |
R 4 750 000.00 |
|
Uthukela |
R 2 685 000.00 |
|
Umzinyathi |
R 7 980 000.00 |
|
Ilembe |
R 9 250 000.00 |
|
Total |
R 24 665 360.00 |
The KZN Cogta is ensuring that all allocated funds are being used timeously for the intended purpose. Money alone will not solve the drought crisis. We need everyone to play their role in conserving water and to think about every drop as if it was the last drop.
We need a change of lifestyle and accept that as South Africa we are a water scarce country. To date government is undertaking various education and awareness campaign on the drought crisis. We also welcome the initiatives including prayers by various social sector partners. At this point we need every effort that can assist to get the rains to start falling.
Enquiries:
Lennox Mabaso
Cogta Spokespersons
Cell: 082 884 2403
Msawakhe Mayisela
Cell: 060 966 4220
