Cape Town - Dams across the country are at their lowest levels in years, the inter-ministerial task team on drought said on Thursday. While reiterating that there was not yet a need to declare the ongoing drought a disaster, ministers Des van Rooyen, Nomvula Mokonyane and Senzeni Zokwana highlighted the need

Johannesburg - Hefty fines may await Johannesburg residents as water restrictions are increased. Member of the Mayoral Committee responsible for Environment, Infrastructure Services Department Anthony Still told journalists that water consumption in Johannesburg needed to be reduced by 15% to ensure the reservoirs do not run dry. Rand Water will

DENEYSVILLE, Free State - The Water and Sanitation Department has warned South Africans to use water sparingly. READ: South Africans using too much water: experts The department says one of the country's main water supplies, the Vaal Dam, is about 34-percent full. That's the lowest it’s been in years. READ: You could

INTERNATIONAL Water Week is marked around the world every year from 15 to 23 March and the Keep Tongaat Beautiful Association (KTBA) held a water awareness programme of its own at the V Moonsamy Hall on 15 March to celebrate the event. Chairman of the association Soobrie Govendsamy, who has

There can be few South Africans who are unaware that the country is currently in the grip of the worst drought in decades Source: The biggest drought post 1994 | Vryheid Herald  

  Jo Barnes A lack of water impacts on every sphere of life. It affects health, economic production, jobs, safety and social stability, to name only a few. The present drought in South Africa made the slogan of a better life for all impossible to attain in the foreseeable future.

Durban - If South Africa doesn’t address the gap between water supply and demand now, the problem could worsen by 2035. This was the warning by Dr Jakkie Cilliers, head of African Futures and Innovation at the Institute for Security Studies. “South Africa is also experiencing the worst drought in

Cape Talk | A special envoy of natural resources of the Netherlands, Dirk-Jan Koch, says water shortage is one of the biggest problems facing the country today. JOHANNESBURG - As South Africa battles the worst drought in over in 23 years, a special envoy of natural resources of the Netherlands

PRETORIA - The Danish government is to help South Africa tackle its water problems. The two governments have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at increasing knowledge sharing, exchanging ideas and capacity building. It is likely to pave the way for a long-term partnership. Source: Danish government to help SA

Having long since fled KwaZulu Natal and the Free State, fat, passing clouds scatter a handful of raindrops over Gauteng like rich men throwing coins at the poor. As the reality of full-blown drought settles in across much of the country, attention has turned to what we can do to

Durban – More water restrictions are on the cards for KwaZulu-Natal, after the uMgungundlovu District Municipality said there was a "compelling need" to have them in place. A committee to evaluate water restrictions has been set up. The uMgungundlovu District Municipality said it was forewarning businesses, ratepayers, and communities about

The water shortage crises continues to impact on most parts of the country, non-governmental organisation - Operation Hydrate -  has continued to deliver much needed water to drought-stricken areas. The NGO announced that Swartruggens in the North West would be the next beneficiary. Forecasters say while it's anticipated that South

South Africa – facing its most serious water crisis in recent history – must urgently adopt a comprehensive long-term water strategy to ensure that the country has enough clean water for the next 100 years, according to Grant Thornton. Grant Thornton Director focusing on future studies, Michiel Jonker says that

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has publicly come out in support of Operation Hydrate, describing the community-driven initiative, which has, to date, distributed over 350 000 ℓ of water to drought-stricken areas in the country, as a “true embodiment” of the spirit of Ubuntu. A group of community

Bloemfontein - Five trucks carrying water are on their way to drought-stricken Senekal and surrounding areas. The bottled water would leave Johannesburg for the Free State on Wednesday, Gift of the Givers Foundation chairperson Imtiaz Sooliman said on Tuesday. "Today we are meeting with the disaster management team to determine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oCflAe1s4U Published on Jan 9, 2016 South Africa is facing one of the worst droughts to hit the region in 30 years. Many small farmers are expected to go out of business as food production and prices increase, especially in the Free State province. Parts of that State have

SENEKAL, South Africa (AP) — The main street of this dusty South African town is lined with empty buckets, marking each residents' place in line as they wait for their daily water ration to be brought in by unreliable trucks. Keeping watch over her buckets, Pulaleng Chakela sleeps in a

THIS is one of the nightmares I’ve woken up to on many a night: the sun gets hotter and hotter until we little human insects boil inside our own skins… Well, that’s what last week felt like, with the daily high edging closer and closer to 40 degrees Celsius, as

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa may need to import as much as 5 million tonnes of maize this year, roughly half of its requirements, because of its worst drought in three decades, the country's largest producer group said on Wednesday. The drought in the continent's biggest maize producer has been

  BOTHAVILLE, Free State - Maize production in the country has taken a knock as drought conditions persist.As the window period for planting maize draws to an end and farmers fear for their livelihoods, the risk of a food crisis escalates. Agricultural Economist Adriaan Snyman said, “No one should under-estimate

Water Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane recently revealed that the drought in South Africa currently affects 173 of the 1 628 water supply schemes nationally, serving approximately 2.7 million households. South Africa is in the fourth consecutive year of drier- than-average weather, with 2015 the most severe. Minister Mokonyane revealed the

Imports could reach as much as 5 million tons by 2017 Farmers miss deadline for planting as dry conditions persist South Africa may need to import almost half of its domestic corn needs less than two years after being a net exporter as a drought exacerbated by the El Nino

There is no way of sugar coating the current status of water scarcity in South Africa. Low rainfall has caused severe drought, and almost no water, leaving five out of our nine provinces declared disaster areas. Harrowing stories from children competing with cows for drinking water to farmers committing suicide, echoes over our barren land. While

Cape Town - High level discussions between national and provincial disaster management teams will take place on Wednesday to finalise the classification of parts of the Western Cape as disaster areas due to the worsening drought plaguing the country. The teleconference will also deal with an application for millions in

Bloemfontein – For Eastern Cape farmer Krisjan Kruger, 34, the consequences of the drought had simply become too much. Faced with the possibility that he could lose everything, he took his own life on Tuesday, a close friend said. Kruger leaves behind his mother. A friend, Jacques Roodt, told News24

Analysts warned of a gloomy outlook worsened by unhelpful political bickering among government leaders and a looming bad agricultural season.   Fears of drought come on the back of revelations that Zimbabwe has eight weeks’ supply of maize remaining due to delays by the Agriculture ministry in issuing permits to

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blQM7nYT08k From the maize-growing Free State and North West provinces which have already been designated disaster areas for agriculture to the sugar-growing province of KwaZulu-Natal and from what we’ve just heard-Mpumalanga which has a diverse agricultural base to Limpopo which accounts for a third of the world’s citrus crop

The National Department of Water and Sanitation says water levels at South Africa’s dams are continuing to drop due to persisting drought. Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau says the situation is still dire at provinces such as Limpopo, North West, Free State, and Kwazulu-Natal. The provinces have been declared disaster areas. Some

Johannesburg - South African white maize increased to a record as the ongoing drought parched crops whose planting season is nearly over. White maize for delivery in July gained by the daily R80 limit, increasing 1.9% to R4 324 a metric tonne by midday on the Futures Exchange. That’s the

If you’ve been reading about the drought in South Africa and not sure just how bad it is, take a look at this footage uploaded to YouTube on Christmas Day by a user called ‘Phantom 3 Professional Drone Footage – See it from the Sky!’. Phantom said: “On the way to

Published on Dec 28, 2015 The drought in the central parts of South Africa from Bloemfontein moving up to the western parts of the country has reached a critical stage. No significant rain has fallen over these areas since the start of the summer. Water supplies in Bloemfontein and other

Under a midmorning sun that augured punishing heat later in the day, a handful of cows stood still inside a small pen, their ribs protruding. Too weak to reach the nearest grassy field some miles away, some munched on tall grass that their owner had cut from a strip of

South Africa indeed faces a difficult 2016, Rian le Roux, Old Mutual Investment Group Chief Economist, warned this week. In addition to weak commodity prices, tighter monetary and fiscal policy and the impact of the drought, the recent rand rout following the financial ministers’ drama, will likely trigger a stronger

South Africa is still facing water shortages with national dam levels dropping by at least by 1% in the past week. The South Africa Weather Service says the country will only receive significant rainfall around March next year. The Water and Sanitation Department's Sputnik Ratau says, "We've gone down, when

Durban – Umgeni Water has urged holidaymakers to use water sparingly as thousands descend on KwaZulu-Natal for the festive season.Umgeni Water spokesperson Shami Harichunder said the rains over the past two days had made little difference to the dangerously low Hazelmere dam, which is now 29.8% full after 25mm of

Despite the end of droughts which recently saw water disruptions take place across the country, South Africa is still at risk of spiralling into a water war. 702's Azania Mosaka spoke to CEO of Water Research Commission, Dhesigen Naidoo, about his predictions of an eminent water war. Listen to the

As South Africa and the rest of the world participated in climate negotiations in Paris this month, our government needs to acknowledge that without solving the social and environmental crises at a local level, we cannot even begin to push a progressive climate agenda at the international level. Until the

Cape Town - The Cape Town City Council on Thursday approved level two water restrictions during its final council meeting for 2015. In a statement, the City said this would have implications on water accounts, while also getting residents to tighten up on their use. According to the amendment, when

JOHANNESBURG – The Water and Sanitation Department has again urged residents to look at alternative water sources as sweltering temperatures continue to impact South Africa's supply. Parts of the country have experienced extreme drought due to a lack of rainfall since October. KwaZulu-Natal has been the hardest hit, with water

Economists say South Africa could be forced to import more food as the effects of the local drought continue to be felt across the country. There are suggestions that Wednesday’s consumer price index (CPI) data, which shows that food inflation is at a seven-month high, is likely to continue rising

Click below for various videos on the drought problem in KZN. KwaZulu-Natal’s Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs says the water levels of dams in the province remain virtually unchanged. This is despite the heavy down pours in some parts of drought-stricken KZN in recent days. The Hazelmere Dam

Click below to watch the video: Farmers in the drought-stricken North West are in dire straits as some are now selling their assets to avoid being liquidated. Agri North West says the agricultural sector, government and the financial sector have to work together to find a speedy solution for the

Rain in KwaZulu-Natal in the past few days has done little to ease the effects of the drought. Source: Rain, rain… come again another day | Independent Online  

Cape Town homes will have to closely monitor their water usage, as the more you use could result in paying higher rates. Source: Cape mulls ‘save water, save money’ plan | Independent Online  

JOHANNESBURG - Waters levels at dams around the country are expected to remain a concern. That’s despite rain falling in parts of the country in the last few days. Experts say it’s too early to hope for an improvement on the water shortages. “Our rainy season normally starts in September.