KwaZulu-Natal Premier Willies Mchunu has appealed to the province’s residents to heed the call of water saving, as KZN continues to feel the impact of drought. He was delivering the State of Province Address at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.
He said while government had minimised risks related to the drought, much had to be done in saving water.
“It is noted that despite mass mobilisation and awareness campaigns, we are still not achieving our water saving targets. Too many people in our province still do not appear to understand the severity of the situation and are not responding positively to calls to adhere to water restriction measures,” said Mchunu.
He expressed concern at the dam levels in the province, cautioning that despite recent good rains, the province still faced the challenge of water supply, especially with rain season drawing to a close.
Further measures would have to be taken to avert serious damage and even loss of life.
“As can be expected, this disaster situation has had a devastating impact, not only on our economy and commercial demand for water, but also on human access to potable drinking water, drinking water for livestock and game farms, crop production and food security, as well as the state of the environment in general.”
According to Mchunu the drought has also contributed to a 6.3% reduction in the number of households directly involved in agriculture over the period 2011 to 2016 and has led to increased urbanisation in KZN.
The premier told the audience that included Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini, former premiers Dr Frank Mdlalose and Dr Zweli Mkhize that while the drought had devastating impact, it had also provided a learning curve for disaster management teams, adding that they are far more responsive than before.