If water is life, SA is beginning to look dead on its feet.
Drought is spreading round the country, leaving almost a million people in the Free State without water, forcing Kimberley to shut off water supplies at night, turning the Eastern Cape into a disaster zone, reducing farmers to penury and despair, and sending food prices soaring.
Experts say SA still has plenty of water but has been plagued by a combination of unstemmed leaks, poor management and government incompetence.
In one infamous case, there are two investigations into the Giyani project in Limpopo, which has cost R3bn but failed to deliver a drop of water to 55 villages.
Water minister Lindiwe Sisulu is expected to brief the media tomorrow about urgent steps she is taking to address the crisis.
In the meantime, it has been left to charities such as Gift of the Givers to sink boreholes in areas under threat of humanitarian disaster. Farmers' wives in 75 towns have even resorted to selling crocheted sheep and other craft work to raise money for fodder.
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