"The situation we are facing is a very serious one. There are no signs of rain coming. We are praying," said Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube, MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta). She was briefing the province's permanent delegates to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) and members of the provincial legislature on the first day of NCOP Provincial Week in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

All district municipalities in the provinces are facing drought. The farming industry is hardest hit as it relies on rain to sustain its business. Ms Dube-Ncube said the water disaster was a major problem for the province. "So it is very important for us to save water," she added.

The province has devised a recovery plan to deal with the affects of the drought. The plan includes the repairing of existing boreholes to produce water for domestic use, drill new boreholes to assist in the supply of water to affected communities, procure mobile water tankers, procure and install water storage tanks, repair water schemes, fast-track water schemes under implementation and develop medium- and long-term drought management plans.

According to a report compiled by Cogta, 9 638 farmers have been negatively affected by the continuing drought conditions. It is said that of these farmers, 5 566 have lost a total of 36 248 large stock units. A total of 4 426 farmers reported crop losses, of which 584 recorded sugarcane yield losses, 3 668 recorded cash crop losses and 174 recorded losses in vegetable yields.

The six permanent delegates to the NCOP from KZN are currently in the province for the NCOP Provincial Week. The theme of the 21-24 July NCOP Provincial Week is "Advancing the developmental agenda of municipalities for a better life for our people". The focus is primarily on delivery of basic services to the communities, financial viability, local economic development, governance and spending on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant.

The KZN NCOP delegation is led by Provincial Whip Mr Lewis Nzimande. Mr Nzimande said the water situation in the province remains a major challenge and that the NCOP delegation will look at viable ways of dealing with it. The six-member delegation is focusing on two municipalities - Ugu and Ilembe district municipalities. The interaction with the people will culminate in public meetings in Harding and Ndwedwe.

Source - http://allafrica.com/