WARNING OF FALSE WATER SHUTDOWN LETTER IN CIRCULATION

The Office of The Premier has noted a false letter in circulation on various social media platforms.

The Letter carries a City of Cape Town logo and Premier Helen Zille’s signature. It contains a message alleging that the entire water system of the City of Cape Town would be shut down on the 29th and 30th of this month. This letter is fabricated and does not come from the Premier’s office.

Premier Zille is the head of the provincial government and not the City of Cape Town. She cannot sign-off on City circulars.

We urge residents to ignore this false letter and its message. We also discourage anyone from further sharing it on social media.

The province is going through a difficult period of drought and false messages like this one are harmful as they have the potential to incite panic.

While the letter is fake and must not be further distributed, the call remains for residents across the province to do all in their power to reduce their water consumption.

The average water level for dams across the Western Cape has dropped to 31%.

We encourage everyone to do their bit in adhering to the restrictions in place in their local municipalities.

Should you experience or come across any water wastage, urgently report it to your relevant municipal authority.

The Western Cape Government remains committed to working with municipalities as they explore various options to not only deal with the current crisis but plan for the future – to support a growing population while generating economic growth.

Statement issued by the Office of the Western Cape Premier, 10 March 2017