No, hon members, lets give the member an opportunity to discuss South Africa's deepening water crisis. Continue, hon member. Order, hon members.
The DEPUTY MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, WATER AND
SANITATION Mr (M Mahlobo): ... but we are the first to admit that more still needs to be done.
We live in a country where water is scarce, that only 30 or so other countries have less water per person. [Applause.]
We must now take into account climate change, which will make our natural water supplies even more difficult to predict.
We have been exposed to prolonged heat wave conditions and the late onset of rains has caused local supply failures. A number of dams, especially in small towns and rural communities are at a critical level or almost dry. We are continuously monitoring the dams' levels as part of our early warning system and we are applying appropriate measures to ameliorate the situation.
We are pleased that even though rainfall was sporadic in most parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo, most parts of Gauteng are starting to experience the rain. This is indeed a welcome relief even though some parts in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo are affected negatively by flash floods and inclement weather condition. We are pleased that the MEC for the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs in KwaZulu-Natal is working with the affected communities.
As a country, we shouldn't expect the forecasting success to continue. It's unusual for seasonal forecast to be so confident. The way we operate our national water infrastructure already takes into account of the big, year- to-year variability in climate change and other variables.
We also try to help other water managers to do the same thing, unfortunately, they don't always listen. [Interjections.]