Govt declares national state of disaster to deal with drought

Cooperative Governance Minister Zweli Mkhize says that a stringent process will be followed to allocate drought relief funds.

CAPE TOWN - National government has declared a national state of disaster to deal with the country’s drought crisis.

The Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Drought and Water Scarcity made the announcement at Parliament earlier this morning.

As outlined during the 2018/2019 Budget Speech, an amount of R6 billion has been set aside to bring relief to affected communities.

Cooperative Governance Minister Zweli Mkhize says that a stringent process will be followed to allocate drought relief funds.

#DroughtCrisis The Inter-Ministerial Task Team on Drought and Water Scarcity briefing media on the declaration of the current drought as a national state of disaster under provisions of Section 27 of the Disaster Management Act 2002. KB pic.twitter.com/3YKMab3ctO — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) March 13, 2018

Mkhize says officials are dead set on insuring communities will never reach a situation where taps run dry.

He emphasizes the Day Zero phenomenon is not a concept adopted by national government.

The declaration covers a period of three months.