Cape Town - Ongoing drought relief efforts in Cape Town were to receive a welcome boost via a cash injection of half a billion rand from the national government, Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille said.
De Lille said the City would receive grant funding to the tune of R553.05 million.
"I will be writing a letter of acknowledgement and thanks to the national government for this support," De Lille said.
"The funds must be used in line with the City’s application for the funding for the Cape Flats, Atlantis, and Table Mountain Group Aquifer recharge projects and in terms of the Municipal Disaster Recovery Grant Conditions," she said.
The funds would soon reflect on the City's informal settlements, waste and water services department's spreadsheet soon.
"The direct conditional grant funding for drought relief was received from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (incorporating the National Disaster Management Centre) in conjunction with National Treasury and I would like to thank these departments as well as the Western Cape Provincial Government for the role they played in facilitating access to this funding support which will strengthen our efforts to ensure water security and build a water-resilient city," De Lille said.
"Cape Town has felt the impact of climate change with three years of extremely low rainfall and as a city we have all come together to navigate our way through this difficult period.
"I commend Team Cape Town for all their brilliant water-saving efforts and ask that we continue on this trend as our dams must still recover fully."
De Lille said that with summer ahead, every measure must be taken to adhere to "our new relationship with water", and continue using water wisely.
@TheCapeArgus