Pretoria - Cabinet has conveyed its condolences to the family and friends of those who lost their lives due to flooding in parts of KwaZulu-Natal.
At least two people been killed, 400 displaced and more than 150 homes damaged in flooding in KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend.
“Government is providing disaster management services and relief to victims,” said Acting Minister in The Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
She was addressing media during a post Cabinet briefing on Thursday in Cape Town.
SA reminded to use water sparingly
While the erratic weather continues to grip parts of the country, Cabinet has reminded South Africans to continue using water sparingly to secure sufficient supply for future use, as there are still areas which are experiencing drought conditions.
Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said government support continues to lessen the devastating effects of the drought through short, medium and long term budget allocations to fund interdepartmental programmes that respond to the special needs of drought affected areas and the need to address water losses in critical supply networks.
Government has established an Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Service Delivery, with representation from different sectors.
As part of the mitigation measures taken to offset the effects of the drought, dam operating rules have been applied to 35 dams and four systems where restrictions are currently applied with regard to the water resource (mandatory restrictions on domestic and agricultural use).
“To mitigate the effects of the drought on water users, the Department of Water and Sanitation has spent over R500 million on emergency and short term interventions in KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, North West, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Western Cape and Northern Cape.
“The medium to long term interventions are intended to ensure that we are more climate change resilient, which reduces the risks for future drought mitigation,” the Minister Mapisa-Nqakula said.
In 2015, South Africa approved the use of drought tolerant genetically modified maize to address the issue of food security.
South Africa has also committed to partner and become a beneficiary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Global target setting support programme. - SAnews.gov.za
