City of CT, interfaith leaders pray for rain
Nine interfaith leaders attended the service and each was granted the opportunity to pray for rain.
CAPE TOWN - The City of Cape Town has on Thursday hosted an interfaith prayer session for rain.
Various religious and spiritual leaders gathered at the foot of Table Mountain on Thursday afternoon, as the Western Cape grapples with the worst drought since 1904.
Nine interfaith leaders attended the service and each was granted the opportunity to pray for rain.
Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille has appealed to residents, businesses and government to continue reducing water consumption.
The city’s average dam levels have just over 20% with the last 10% of the dam’s capacity mostly unusable.
#Pray4Rain De Lille: we will make platform available for public to share their water saving ideas. SF pic.twitter.com/rMZbfTZXrI
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 25, 2017
On Thursday morning, Minister of Water and Sanitation Nomvula Mokonyane visited the nearly dried up Theewaterskloof Dam to assess the extent of the crisis.
The drought has drained the dam of water, leaving behind a barren landscape with protruding toothpick-like tree stumps scattered across what used to be the bottom of the dam.
The water level of the Theewaterskloof Dam near Cape Town dropped to around 30 percent in March 2016. It is the largest of five major dams supplying drinking water to the city. Picture: Aletta Harrison/EWN
It is a dire situation. The dam is just 14% full and only 4% of that water is usable.
Mokonyane says they are developing long-term solutions to the crisis.
Last week, the Western Cape Government declared the province as a disaster area.
#Pray4Rain De Lille: we will be implementing level 4 water restrictions. This is saying to public we are in a crisis.SF pic.twitter.com/TcXHUz7N5h
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 25, 2017
(Edited by Zamangwane Shange)
