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Mail & Guardian

Drought Relief

latest news & developments
Show goes on: Festival organisers have ensured alternative sources of water to the National Arts Festival in Makhanda. (Delwyn Verasamy)
DROUGHT RELIEF

Even if the wells run dry …

This year’s National Arts Festival is going ahead despite the drought that is plaguing Makhanda

  • Zaza Hlalethwa
6 min read
In the run-up to the 2021 local government elections, the Makana Citizens Front challenged corruption and dysfunction in the municipality rather than try to collapse state institutions. Photo: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G
DROUGHT

Water dept under fire as Gift of the Givers withdraws from drought-hit Makhanda

After being promised reimbursement for financial assistance, Gift of the Givers has been left high and dry by the water and sanitation department

  • Aaisha Dadi Patel
3 min read
The Qwaninga River that feeds the Qwaninga treatment plant has been reduced to a trickle, exposing beds of rock and sand where water should have been. (Photos: Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
AMATHOLE

As rivers run dry, Day Zero strikes Eastern Cape’s villages

Severe drought and a struggling municipality means some people drink from muddy puddles

  • Raeesa Pather
10 min read
The city said at first it was completely illegal to sell municipal water
CAPE TOWN

City of Cape Town requests relaxation of water restrictions

Cape Town deputy mayor Ian Neilson said the national water and sanitation department would respond to the city’s request on August 31

  • Raeesa Pather
3 min read
As dry conditions and high temperatures persist, there are growing concerns about the spring and summer crops that will be harvested later this year. (Oupa Nkosi/M&G)
AFGHANISTAN

Farmers in war-torn Afghanistan hit by worst drought in decades

Afghanistan’s 2018 wheat harvest is already expected to be the lowest since at least 2011

  • Emal Haidary
4 min read
Toll: South Sudan rebels carry an injured comrade after a 2017 assault on government soldiers. Accurate statistics are hard to come by in places fraught with disasters and crises. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
DROUGHT RELIEF

Eastern Cape towns to start ‘water shedding’ as dam empties

Water will be cut off in two Eastern Cape towns and only switched on for short intervals

  • Jenni Evans
2 min read
The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), established by the 1986 treaty signed by the governments of Lesotho and South Africa, is a multi-phased project that generates hydroelectricity through a system of several large dams and tunnels in Lesotho for domestic use and supplies water to the Vaal River System in South Africa for its economic hub, Gauteng.
AGENCY

National dam levels rise higher than in 2017 ― water department

The Western Cape dam levels that were recorded at an all-time low three months ago are rising by 5% week-on-week

  • Agency
1 min read
(Oupa Nkosi/M&G)
CAPE TOWN

Capetonians continue to save water

City of Cape Town deputy mayor Ian Neilson said dams providing water to the City are now 21.8% full

  • Raeesa Pather
2 min read
(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
CAPE POINT VINEYARDS

Cape farmers lose 25% of orchards, vineyards as result of drought

Drought-stricken farmers in the Western Cape have had to abandon at least a quarter of their high-value vineyards and fruit orchards

  • Melanie Gosling
5 min read
The cargo ship MV Asphalt Venture arrives in Mombasa in 2011. After the vehicle was ‘arrested’ in Richard’s Bay the legal dispute landed up in a South African high court.
DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND SANITATION

R6-billion for drought relief

The Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister has allocated more funds to relieve drought affecting several provinces

  • Paul Herman
  • Staff Reporter
3 min read
The practice made me conscious of how much of my time is spent in a state of constant overstimulation.
CAPE TOWN

Why UNESCO’s ‘natural solutions’ to water problems won’t work in Africa

Nature based approaches to solving water problems originated in Europe and don’t take into account the continent’s huge infrastructure deficit.

  • Mike Muller A
  • Second Look Author
5 min read
“I want to say to the people here
CAPE TOWN

Maimane: #DayZero will not occur in 2018

The delay in Day Zero for 2018 is dependent on rainfall in the June/July period and residents continuing to use less than 50l of water

  • Raeesa Pather
2 min read
People in the township of Khayelitsha near Cape Town have been managing water shortages for ages.
CAPE TOWN

Bold steps needed for a ‘new normal’ that allocates water fairly

South Africa is a water-scarce country where inequity and a lack of fairness and justice pervades water distribution.

  • Mary Galvin
5 min read
Dams would need to reach 65% by the end of the rainy season at the start of October before the city’s water storage capacity moves out of the danger zone. (David Harrison/M&G)
CAPE TOWN

Day Zero: Scare tactics, science and solutions

The city has come under significant criticism from civil society and concerned residents for its response to the worst drought in a 100 years

  • Carla Bernando
7 min read
The Helen Suzman Foundation said in its submission that the national head must be perceived as independent of executive and political influence.
DROUGHT

Drilling underway to access last 10% in Western Cape dam

The remaining 10% in the Theewaterskloof Dam is largely regarded as unusable if used through the current dam system

  • Jeanette Chabalala
2 min read