The impact of the drought on the Western Cape economy cannot be sugar coated and is actually higher than previously anticipated, Western Cape minister of economic opportunities Alan Winde said at a media briefing on Thursday.
"We need the drought to be declared a national disaster and an allocation from the new Cabinet for infrastructure investment in our dams - like Brandvlei and Clanwilliam," said Winde.
"We will continue to invest in smart agriculture. Research is very important. A whole new water economy will come out of this [crisis] and we need to use lots of innovation in agriculture to ensure that the crisis enables us to remain competitive. You cannot compete if you have no products to compete with."
Research indicates that about 30 000 jobs will be lost in the province due to the drought. According to Louw Pienaar, an agricultural economist at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, about 22% of rural jobs in the province relate to agriculture. Many of these jobs are for unskilled or semi-skilled workers. This means these workers will not easily be absorbed by the rest of the economy if they lose their jobs in agriculture.
Pienaar estimates that it will take between eight to ten years for agriculture in the province to recover from the impact of the drought.
Source ; https://summit9990.blogspot.com/2018/03/drought-impact-on-western-cape-economy.html
that,s so painful as you all know that there is no life without water
ReplyDeleteTheres been droughts all over he country and now its severe in Cape Town. All of a sudden its now a national crisis. The government is so shady.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Khanya. Most of us grew up in villages with water crises with no government intervention. Where is the loyalty vele???
DeleteSeems like they have reached a point where they can see how even just a "water drop" is important.
ReplyDeletewater crisis is a very serious problem globally. if the government do not take serious actions about this, we will be in trouble
ReplyDeleteBut I do not really think we should relay on government as the are other traditional methods that can be used, like going to the mountain and pray for the rain.
DeleteWater scarcity has been evolving our country for a very long time and is quite a huge problem. lets just hope something is done before things get out of hand.
ReplyDeletePeople also have the responsibility of using water wisely especially for count down. We cannot blame government for everything, they are also human beings
ReplyDeleteThis is the issue in developing the city ,scarcity of water can do , it is so hard to create more buildings which slows down the city development.
ReplyDeleteIt will really take time for them to recover.
DeleteDrought is not like load shedding which can last for a few hours, it is a serious issue for Western Cape as well as other provinces. The drought crisis in Cape Town should be an eye opener for other provinces.
ReplyDeletePoor planning and not enough infrastructure being built has resulted in this.The DA failed Cape Town and the rest of the Western Cape! Hellen Zille, where are you? This could have been prevented before it happened
ReplyDeleteCape town citizens do not have big dams so they should try and build one.
ReplyDelete