Its inter-ministerial task team met on the drought and water scarcity on Thursday and announced a process to declare a national drought disaster that could would be finalised before Wednesday.
“Currently, efforts are under way to classify the drought as a national disaster,” Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Des van Rooyen said.
“The declaration will empower the minister or his delegate to issue regulations and/or directives in dealing with the drought disaster.
“We need to protect our farmers because we depend on them for food security.” Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane said agriculture owned most of the country’s dams.
We own about 323 dams while municipalities own 318 dams across the country.
Dams are also owned by other government departments as well as the mining sector,” she said.
“We have a national minister of water and sanitation.
We have a minister of agriculture and a minister of co-operative governance.
Mokonyane was indirectly referring to DA leader Mmusi Maimane who had taken over the communications role on the water crisis in Cape Town.
@JasonFelix jason.felix@inl.co.za Cape Argus