WE MUST DEAL WITH THE DROUGHT AS A CRISIS AFFECTING EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US

Congress of the People is deeply concerned about the suffering of people as well as of animals in all of the drought-ravaged areas of our country. Two weeks ago, we submitted a question to the Minister of Agriculture to ascertain how he and the Minister of Water Affairs planned as a team to support the severely affected communities in Northern Kwa Zulu-Natal and elsewhere.

Many experts have rated this year's water shortage as the worst in a quarter century. This drought will devastate communities, create food and water shortages, push up prices of food, and make hardships for people as well as animals. It all also expose people to outbreak of diseases. We will need, as a nation, to act proactively to protect against cholera and water borne diseases.

COPE urges communities to mount a nationwide drive to raise money for water tanks and to support the drilling and equipping of bore holes to tap underground water. This drought calls for all of us to become proactive. We will all suffer in one way or another because of this drought and therefore we must act together as one.   

COPE hoisted its green banners at the birth of the party. In our view, it is imperative for the nation to actively and vigorously mitigate the effects of climate change. We have noted with great alarm how frequent and how destructive storms and droughts have become.  The drought we are experiencing began last year. Scientists are forecasting drier conditions over the next five decades. The prospects certainly do not look good at all.

Let us use this drought as a wakeup call to attack climate change with all we have while we can. Government must move with greater speed in adopting a green agenda and getting schoolchildren and university students to become ecowarriors. Our very future is at stake.

As droughts become increasingly severe and prolonged in nature, the impact on our economy will manifest itself very dramatically

How people farm and how every single one of us uses water must now receive the constant attention of those who are in authority. We must all become water wise. Furthermore, we must act quickly to change acid mine water from remaining a liability into the future and make its conversion into usable water economically viable at once.

We have a serious crisis and all of us must deal with the drought as a crisis.

Issued by Dennis Bloem, COPE Spokesperson, 1 November 2015