Severe drought continues to hit Eastern Cape districts
The Province of the Eastern Cape is still severely affected by the current drought situation, says the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Fikile Xasa. MEC Xasa said most affected parts of the Province are Amathole, Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi and OR Tambo District Municipalities.
The current drought is the result of a consequence of dry spells and extreme hot conditions associated with the strong 2015/16 El Nino event and preceding drier than normal years, especially over the central parts of the country.
“The recovery of the country at large form the drought conditions may take some time, depending on rainfall and temperature conditions over the spring through summer season,” said MEC Xasa.
He added that seasonal weather predictions for the Province indicate that the drier than normal conditions experienced over the Eastern Cape will probably continue until mid-December 2016.
“However, this does not mean that rainfall will not occur, it simply means that the rainfall average for the period will be below what is normally expected. There is however a moderate to good chance of the rainfall being more than what can usually be expected towards the latter half of December through into January 2017,” he said.
He added that despite the recent rainfalls that have been received most of the dams in the Province are still under 40% of water capacity with specific dams.
Some details are as follows:
- Xhilinxa and Etholeni Dams in Butterworth are under 10% water capacity whilst Bedford Dam is at 17%.
- In Queenstown the Bonkolo dam is at 11% water is now drawn from Waterdown Dam which is some 60 kms away.
- In Dordrecht Munnik and Anderson dams have literally dried out.
- Ntabankulu and Matatiele Dams have completely dried up and have since been closed.
The Provincial government wishes to we encourage our communities to play their part to conserve water by stopping water leaks in their households and neighbourhoods.
“We encourage residents to report all leakages in their areas to the Ward Councillors because a drop of water is a precious source of life. Traditional leaders must also play their part and stop water leaks by reporting them to authorities. Every drop of water is critical for the survival and well-being of its citizens,” said MEC Xasa.
He said the Provincial government applauds the water saving initiatives executed by the municipal leadership including enforcing water restrictions, as the right thing to do under the circumstances.
He called on municipalities to “heighten” the implementation of their drought Communication Action Plans.
Water is life, save it now.
Enquiries:
M. Ngam
Cell: 071 685 7981
