‘Scapegoat’ farmers accuse Cape official of incompetence in water crisis
Farmers have accused the City of Cape Town of mishandling its water crisis and unfairly blaming the agriculture sector for its dwindling supplies. The city is in the grip of a prolonged drought and has warned residents that unless they drastically reduce consumption it might be forced to turn off most taps and ration people to 25 litres a day, which they will have to obtain at designated collection points, with devastating socioeconomic consequences. "It is very [sad] that the deputy mayor [Ian Neilson] is using agriculture as a scapegoat to cover up their [inability] to manage what they have got," Agri Western Cape CE Carl Opperman said on Thursday. The city had dragged its feet in imposing tight water restrictions, had overshot its consumption targets and should not blame farmers for the shortage. Neilson, the leader of the city’s drought response team, said on Wednesday that he and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille would meet Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and see...
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