Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has declared the province a disaster area due to the relentless drought. In a statement on Monday‚ Zille’s office said the province would keep this status for three months. "The disaster declaration will accelerate the Western Cape Disaster Management Centre’s Project Avoiding Day Zero‚ the province’s strategy to ensure that taps do not run dry‚" said Zille. She said the drought was the worst since 1904. Her spokesman‚ Michael Mpofu‚ said Project Avoiding Day Zero was going to focus on demand management‚ winter water conservation and groundwater management. "Funding will be reprioritised provincially and‚ should further assistance be needed‚ the province will approach National Treasury and the national Department of Water and Sanitation‚" said Mpofu. He said the province’s immediate interventions would include "drilling of boreholes at hospitals‚ starting in the metro‚ to be followed by schools in high-risk water-scarce areas". The province would als...
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