National state of disaster lifted after ample rain

The national state of disaster declared in March over a drought that ravaged parts of the country had lapsed after significant rainfall, the government said on Wednesday.

The three-year drought hit Cape Town particularly hard, threatening to leave residents of the city without drinking water.

The government said it had conducted assessments that showed the severe phase of the drought that affected agricultural production in a number of provinces had ended.

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize had confirmed the state of disaster had lapsed, a government statement read.

More than R400m was mobilised from various disaster grants to implement relief operations in an attempt to avoid turning taps off under a dayzero scenario and to provide water to all regions.

The drought has affected water-intensive operations, such as wine makers, who make up 11% of the southwestern region’s economic output and sustain 300,000 jobs.

Output from Africa’s top wine producer was set to slump by more than 20% in 2018, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine said.

In recent weeks, the Western Cape region, which typically receives rainfall from May to August, has experienced significant rains.

The Cape Town municipality said water levels in dams had risen to almost 32% from more than 21% this time in 2017.

The city, battling its worst drought in a century, has called on the population to continue conserving water “given the uncertainty of rainfall”.

“We have to make sure that we adhere to our goals and restrictions” — namely a daily consumption of 50l per person, the municipality said.

An average toilet flush uses 9l of water and a one-minute shower uses 10l.

The province’s biggest dam, Theewaterskloof, was currently at 20.8%.

In February, it was at 11.5% and authorities were forced to drill into the dam to extract the last 10% of its water.

James Brent-Styan, spokesman for the provincial environment department, said although dam levels were increasing, much more rain was needed before the end of winter.