(Bloomberg) -- South Africa's government has no immediate plans to allocate funds for drought alleviation in the water deprived Western Cape Province, Water & Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane told reporters in Cape Town.
Cape Town, the continent's top tourist destination, is in the throes of the worst drought on record, with the winter rainy season still about four months away. The metropolis could be the world's first major city to run out of water, with the municipality warning this may happen on April 12. The city's four million residents may find themselves lining up for a daily allocation of 25 liters (6.6 gallons) each.
“Urban and agricultural water users have exceeded their water use for the hydrological year already,” Trevor Balzer, deputy director-general in the Department of Water & Sanitation, said at the same briefing on Sunday. “That is why we have switched off agricultural water users already.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Vecchiatto in Cape Town at pvecchiatto@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Stephen Kirkland, Paul Abelsky
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