Drought relief measures adequate, for now

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Despite this, the joint Committees of Water and Sanitation, and Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs have agreed that the relief measures are satisfactory for now, as the province battles the drought. The committees are on a joint oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal to ascertain progress in government interventions.

"We note the huge challenge that the department is facing, especially because the situation is not under human control. We are satisfied with interventions that we have seen, although without rain they might need to increase," said Mlungisi Johnson, the chairperson of the committee.

The municipality has resorted to excavating the basin of the river to force groundwater to the surface in order to supply people with water. They have also drilled two boreholes to augment the water levels to ensure supply.

Dams drying up

The Hluhluwe dam is also in a dire predicament, as others dams that supply Hluhluwe are drying up. "The primary economic activity within the district is agriculture and tourism, and with the dam that supplies Hluhluwe standing at 35% capacity, things were not looking good. Water shortages have a direct impact on the source of economic activity," said Councillor Jeffery Vilane, the mayor of the Umkhanyakude District Municipality.

The Committee called for a change in the implementation of the relief programme and said forward planning was necessary if the province and municipality are to cope with any future challenges. Some of the issues highlighted are the procurement of bigger pumps to assist with the retrieval of underground water and an analysis of the groundwater available to ascertain how far it will continue to assist with drought relief.

The delegations will today continue to visit other areas of the province as they assess if relief interventions are having the desired effect.