Drought-hit farmers in bitter battle over water rights
The feud is said to be closing down small-scale operations in the Klein Karoo district of Ladismith
A bitter water feud is being waged by farmers in one of the regions hit hardest by drought. The sleepy Klein Karoo town of Ladismith, Western Cape, is the epicentre of the war that has pitted neighbours against each other. Central to the battle, which has seen small-scale farmers allegedly being forced to abandon their land, are water-usage rights. The four-year fight, which came to a head in December after the provincial water affairs and environmental department raided commercial farms, stems from large-scale farmers allegedly increasing their dams’ capacities illegally and without state permission. The expansion of 13 dams in the foothills of Swartberg resulted in commercial farmers being accused of filling their dams by stealing water meant for smaller farmers in the valleys below Ladismith. Alerted by whistleblowers, Western Cape water affairs department officers raided five farms on which the dams are built and ordered all operations and future construction to be halted. Envir...
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