Mayor De Lille calls for drought-hit Cape Town to be declared disaster area
Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille wants the city to be declared a disaster area because of the drought. De Lille said on Tuesday she had written to local government and environmental affairs MEC Anton Bredell, asking for the declaration so the council could "get assistance to help us manage the water crisis more effectively". "National government would fund and implement emergency water supply schemes‚" she said. With the Vaal Dam in Gauteng reaching capacity‚ she was hoping Water Minister Nomvula Mokonyane could be better able to respond to the city’s plight. If dam levels dipped below 15% — likely to happen in about 10 weeks if there was no significant rainfall — water supplies would be cut off intermittently in some areas‚ De Lille said.
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