R100-billion needed to staunch KZN’s water woes
19 Jan 2021
Residents of Arena Park in Chatsworth get water from a municipal tanker as they face days without water, 13 January 2021. (Photograph: Rogan Ward)
KwaZulu-Natal will have to spend R100-billion over the next 10 years to replace ageing water infrastructure and build new dams to meet the demand by residents of its 54 municipalities.
This is according to the progress report on a provincial water master plan presented by the KwaZulu-Natal government last week to the province’s co-operative governance portfolio committee, which has identified the lack of maintenance and replacement of ageing facilities as being central to the province’s water crisis. The plan is being developed in conjunction with the national water and sanitation department in response to the province’s water crisis.
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South Africa was 19 days into the beach and river ban for declared hotspot areas, as of 16 January. Beach towns are the epicentre of both the summer and the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The major beaches were quiet and all but deserted when Daily Maverick toured the Cape Peninsula on Wednesday. Even the waves of Muizenberg, Cape Town’s surf hub, were abandoned, leaving Muizies eerily still and the surf shops closed to surf lessons and board hire.
Craig Paul, co-owner of the iconic 45-year-old Lifestyle Surf Shop, said that the last time Muizenberg was “slightly” full was the day after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the extended beach ban on 28 December, which included Muizenberg.