Durban - The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs has hit back at reports that it is not doing enough to ensure that drought relief efforts take place.
The department condemned attempts by the political opposition and the media to politicise the prolonged drought in the province by blaming its harsh impact and cost on alleged government inaction.
“It is disappointing that a natural disaster of this magnitude is not bringing people together in solidarity but it is rather creating opportunities for our opponents to score cheap political points out of our shared misery,” said Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
She said the department was working with the national government and the municipalities to ease the devastating impact of the drought.
It had ensured that drought relief funding from national departments of R474 million was used to provide interim responses to the crisis, but it needed R1.6 billion to affectively deal with it.
“This is time for us to work in unison to respond to the human crisis we face. This is no time for armchair critics,” said Dube-Ncube.
Meanwhile, in Pietermaritzburg, the drought had nothing to do with residents and businesses not having water in parts of the city on Monday – the Msunduzi Municipality said the problem was a faulty valve at a reservoir.
Residents feared that water restrictions had suddenly been implemented when taps ran dry in the central business district, in Chase Valley, and in Northern Park in the morning.
Municipal spokeswoman Nqobile Madonda allayed the concerns, saying the problem was due to a faulty valve at the Symons Reservoir.
“The valve shut on its own due to a fault, thus affecting supply. However, after the fault was located, our teams worked tirelessly to restore supply to all affected areas.”
There was no water in the areas from about 5am until just after noon.
The Mercury
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