Cape Town in South Africa is experiencing an unprecedented drought crisis
Cape Town suffers from a shortage of drinking water.
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The city of Cape Town has been facing an unprecedented drought crisis for four years, while the specter of water scarcity hangs over the tourist capital of South Africa called "Day Zero", the day when the pipes will dry up completely.
While surfers wash up at Cape Town's scenic beaches to remove sand from their feet, Shadrack Mogres fills his barrel with water, as there is no water in his home's toilets.
Waiting for his barrel to fill up, automatic sprinklers water the vineyards on the hills, and water gushes from the taps, but not everywhere.
The water reaches Khayelitsha, one of South Africa's largest towns, only intermittently, often with low pressure and aging pipes.
Shadrac Mogras, 56, gets up early in the morning, filling his tank while the water is up.
As for the quantity collected in the tank, it is hardly enough for the family of six to meet its daily needs of drinking and washing.
The father saves a small amount of water daily for use in the toilets, as the suction is used only once at the end of the day.
"It's a daily insult," he says.
"We have bathrooms and toilets in our house, but we cannot use them," he added.
Sometimes, his children go to school without drinking a drop of water.
From bad to worse
Mogras tried to contact the concerned authorities, but he did not succeed in communicating with them, while tanks belonging to the municipality and from time to time transport not large quantities of water to the homes, but not always.
"We have no choice but to get up in the morning to fill our tank with water as much as possible," said Sandil Zato, 45, who lives in a nearby house.
In the gardens of the affluent neighborhoods of the Cape Town peninsula, the pools are full all year round.
But behind the stunning scenery and green hills spread over the slopes of white sand, drinking water does not reach about 30 neighborhoods, while this vital substance is also deprived of this vital substance as well as suburbs and neighborhoods inhabited by the middle class.
During the drought period, a collective effort was made, as each person managed the amount of water consumed in his home, reduced the irrigation of crops, and used to drive a dirty car.
"At the time, we all knew the problem, but today water is available and we know that, which is worse," says Mogres.
The municipality assures AFP that it is investing large sums of money to repair dilapidated infrastructure.
The state of emergency declared as a result of "Covid-19" made it possible to obtain additional funds to provide water to the population.
The official in charge of water management in the municipality, Zahid Badrudian, presents arguments related to the insecurity in some neighborhoods, saying that “our trucks are being targeted while our employees are subjected to armed robberies, sometimes.”
Badrudian considers that a new drought will "inevitably" arrive.
During the past years, restrictions on water consumption were imposed from time to time in many cities of South Africa, which the World Bank recently ranked the most unequal country in the world.
• Not planning to face the next drought, which may be imminent and represents a suicide operation.
• During the past years, restrictions on water consumption were imposed from time to time in many cities of South Africa, which the World Bank recently ranked the most unequal country in the world.
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