Officials in South Africa have declared a national disaster following recent drought which has hit the country’s southern and western regions.
The country including Cape Town is facing water crisis as taps run dry as a result of climate change.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the Southern African country said it has reclassified the current crisis as a “national disaster” after re-evaluating the magnitude and severity of the drought.
Officials have now pushed back the deadline for what it calls “Day Zero”, a time when residents will have to start queuing for water to June 4 from May 11.
Cape Town hotels are reported to have asked guests not to use baths and to limit showers to two minutes or less.
Some restaurants are also switching to disposable cups and dispensing with table linen.
Meanwhile officials in Ghana have announced that they have been forced to begin rationing water for citizens following a drop in water production.
The Ghana Water Company Limited in a statement said it has rolled out a rationing program for the entire country due to the dry season that has set in.
Water sources for the country’s production plants have also been polluted making treatment a major challenge. The water company said that “the situation has led to intermittent water supply in most cities and towns in the country.”
“The dry season is on and consumers with greater dependence on rainwater have also compounded the problem by taking to treated water use. These practices ease the pressures in the pipelines thereby causing low pressure and no flow in some areas, especially areas located in high elevations,” the statement added.
Source: Africafeeds.com
