KZN drought crisis could affect whole country
"We are fighting to stay afloat as the drought washes away our financial liquidity and slowly drowns us in debt, and uThukela is the only one who can throw us a lifeline"
The facts are undeniably scary… It should have rained by now and the worst of the drought should have been over. But it is not and more water tightening measures will have to take place.
This will include automatic green lawn fines, which uThukela are soon to announce.
uThukela officials will be patrolling suburbs.
Anyone with a green lawn will be fined, irrespective of whether a sprinkler system is installed or not.
The town is critically short of water. For farmers and residents in outlying areas like Driefontein, St Chad’s and Indaka, there is only water supplied by tanker.
With Ladysmith facing water-shedding (water rationing), infrastructure problems like leaks also hamper supply.
If you are wondering how bad the situation is, an article published in the Times hints at food price increases as farmers battle last year’s poor rain, added to this year’s drought.
According to an article published by Times Live:
“White maize prices are about 60% higher than last year because of the weaker rand and too little rain in February, which resulted in a smaller crop. This means the price of pap, a staple for many, has increased. Yellow maize, used for animal feed, is about 44% pricier than in October last year. Consumers will pay more for meat, eggs and dairy products. Grain SA CEO Jannie de Villiers said meteorologists have predicted a hot dry summer because of El Niño, which is associated with prolonged droughts.
For Ladysmith, the drought – which has seen the Klip River go from a steady flowing river to a mere trickle of water – is acute, with water supply to homes only arriving once per day in some areas.
For businesses in Danskraal, some of which have received no water for two weeks, the situation is dire. Some are beginning to put workers on short-time already.
The Ladysmith Gazette received a phone call this morning from a business that has not had water since the start of water-shedding. The simple question they had was: How long will they have to wait? No tankers and no water equals closing down in their books. “We are fighting to stay afloat as the drought washes away our financial liquidity and slowly drowns us in debt, and uThukela is the only one who can throw us a lifeline.”
Read our editorial note.
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