Drought committee needs to brief nation every fortnight: DA

leon basson
leon basson
The inter-ministerial committee established to focus on the drought that is gripping large parts of the country should brief the nation on its progress every fortnight‚ the Democratic Alliance says.

DA deputy spokesman on water and sanitation Leon Basson called on the committee to brief the country at least every two weeks during the summer period on the effects of the water shortages and the measures taken by the government to mitigate the situation that threatened the day-to-day lives and livelihoods of so many South Africans.

He noted that authorities in the Free State and Kwazulu-Natal (KZN) had just this week announced that they would implement scheduled water-shedding across several municipalities.

“Communities in these provinces now find themselves without water‚ not just because of the drought and high temperatures‚ but because of the years of insufficient planning and poor management by the ANC government‚” Basson said.

This failure was evidenced in KZN where‚ following shortages in the Hazelmere Dam area‚ the government was supposed to have completed the raising of the dam by September 2014. However‚ construction on this project had only started one year after the promised completion date‚ Basson added.

He said the briefings should include information on the digging of boreholes‚ the dispatching of water tankers and provide clarity on where and when affected municipalities would be implementing water-shedding.

“The ANC government’s response to the water crisis has to date been reactive‚ limping from incident to incident‚ without the will or capacity to deal and plan for South Africa’s long term water security.

“In addition the DA will therefore write to the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Water‚ Lulu Johnson‚ to schedule parliamentary hearings in 2016 on securing the South Africa’s long-term water future.

“Experts have already commented that the Department’s current water policy‚ as captured in the National Water Resource Strategy of 2013‚ is not adequate to address South Africa’s water constraints and is based on dated information‚” Basson stated.

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