The National Lotteries Commission has provided 200 boreholes in five provinces that are severely affected by drought.
The commission earlier this year committed R50 million to complement government’s drought mitigation programme, with the objective of providing sustainable water supply solutions to distressed communities.
This intervention came about as South Africa was in the grip of the strongest El Nino on record, resulting in severe drought conditions, with food production and water supplies under threat.
The Department of Water and Sanitation, together with the National Lotteries Commission, engaged in intensive discussions to assess where alleviation was needed most.
“A narrower selection in each province was then done and the decision of where the boreholes needed to be drilled locally was based on the information from municipal officials, community leaders and through observation during site visits and site specific siting, according to geo-hydrological information.
“The National Lotteries Commission, through its proactive funding initiative, has provided 200 boreholes in five provinces that are severely affected by drought. The boreholes were drilled and equipped with hand pumps,” said the Department of Water and Sanitation on Wednesday.
Limpopo and Mpumalanga each received 50 boreholes, Free State 47, North West 24 and the Eastern Cape 29.
To date, 28 organisations have been active in supporting government’s drought intervention programme to mitigate the impacts of the drought on the most vulnerable communities.
“The way in which civil society, business and entities have and continue to intervene and complement the work of government, continues to show what Ubuntu is all about and demonstrates social cohesion at its best,” the department said.
Source: SA News
