Mozambique Prepares for Dangerous Cyclone Giovanna
By Johannes Myburgh*
Drainage systems in Mozambique’s capital Maputo struggle to cope with rivers flowing into the city and high rainfall that leave streets flooded. / Johannes Myburgh/IPS
MAPUTO, Feb 16 (IPS) – Over 100,000 people in Mozambique are still recovering from losing their homes and crops, and from being cut off from schools and shops after [...]
MALAWI: Cholera in a Time of Floods
By Claire Ngozo
Sewage from the latrines has contaminated water sources in Nsjane, including boreholes and dug-out wells thereby escalating the cholera incidents. / Claire Ngozo/IPS
NSANJE, Malawi, Feb 9 (IPS) – They survived floods and witnessed the horrific scenes of their houses, livestock, household items and gardens being swept away at the end of January. [...]
ZIMBABAWE: Not Prepared for Floods Amid Conflicting Weather Forecasts
By Ignatius Banda
The Zambezi River Authority told villagers living downstream on the Zambezi (pictured) to evacuate their homes because of possible flooding. / Zukiswa Zimela/IPS
BULAWAYO, Feb 8 (IPS) – Sibongile Dube knows the devastation heavy rain can leave in its wake. A villager in the lowveld area of Mberengwa in Zimbabwe’s Midlands province, Dube’s [...]
WEST AFRICA: Water Shortage Threatens Wildlife
By Brahima Ouédraogo
Low rainfall is having disastrous effects on wildlife in W Regional Park, which stretches across Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger. / Nicolas Barbier/Wikicommons
OUAGADOUGOU, Feb 2 (IPS) – The story of a pair of buffalo aggressively prowling the edges of a village in eastern Burkina Faso is a warning sign of severe water [...]
MAURITIUS: Thirsty for Ideas to Address Water Woes
By Nasseem Ackbarally
PORT LOUIS, Dec 27 (IPS) – Mauritius plans to privatise its water sector, as rains become rare, and century-old pipes continue to leak almost 50 percent of the water available, added to waste by the population, mismanagement and over-consumption.
There are not enough dams to collect water in Mauritius, and most of the rainwater [...]
SWAZILAND: Processing Plant Threatens Water in Capital
By Mantoe Phakathi
A multi-million dollar iron-ore reprocessing plant in northern Swaziland is threatening water security. / Mantoe Phakathi/IPS
MBABANE, Dec 26 (IPS) – A multi-million dollar iron-ore reprocessing plant in the northern part of Swaziland, owned by Indian mining company Salgaocar, is threatening the water security of local communities and even the country’s capital city, [...]
Growing Calls for Water to be Prioritised
By Joshua Kyalimpa
Access to water is an urgent issue here in the Southern Africa region. / Mantoe Phakathi/IPS
DURBAN, South Africa, Dec 5 (IPS) – Efforts to establish water as an agenda item in its own right in climate change negotiations are gaining momentum in Durban, South Africa. Water experts say doing this will lead to [...]
Water: A Victim of Climate Change
By Busani Bafana
David Lessole (left) with Phera Ramoeli, Head of Water Programmes, Infrastructure and Services at the SADC Secretariat. / Busani Bafana/IPS
DURBAN, South Africa, Nov 30 (IPS) – The Southern Africa Development Community wants water to be tabled as a standalone item on climate change negotiations – describing it as too important to [...]
SOUTH AFRICA: Acid Mine Drainage Water Can Be Put to Use
By Busani Bafana
Water from acid mine drainage is unsuitable for human and animal consumption. / Busani Bafana/IPS
KRUGERSDORP, South Africa, Nov 22 (IPS) – Toxic water from derelict gold and uranium mines has reportedly destroyed Elize Strydom's dream to be a farmer in her retirement.
Polluted waste from nearby mines spews onto her 160-hectare farm outside [...]
UGANDA: Single Mothers Left Behind in Flooded Swampland
By Andrew Green
Water stands in the roads of Bwaise after a light morning rainfall. The urban slum's drainage system is unable to handle even slight rains. / Andrew Green/IPS
KAMPALA, Nov 21 (IPS) – Life in Bwaise – a slum on the outskirts of the capital of Uganda – has never been easy. But increasingly [...]
CLIMATE CHANGE: A Threat to Food Security in Africa's River Basins
By Busani Bafana
Climate change will increase water pressure on the stressed Limpopo, Nile and Volta River Basins on which more than 300 million people depend. / Busani Bafana/IPS
PRETORIA, South Africa, Nov 15 (IPS) – While Africa has successfully avoided conflict over shared water courses, it will need greater diplomacy to keep the peace as [...]
World’s Biggest Hydropower Scheme Will Leave Africans in the Dark
By Kristin Palitza
Sub-Saharan Africa has large potential for hydropower generation, but is yet to exploit it. / Kristin Palitza/IPS
CAPE TOWN, Nov 15 (IPS) – South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to build a major hydroelectric power project, which is said to bring electricity to more than half [...]
MALAWI: Water Promises Light for Isolated Community
By Charles Mpaka
BLANTYRE, Nov 15 (IPS) – In just a few weeks, seven villages that had expected to remain "in the dark forever" will finally have electricity, courtesy of a small hydroelectric power plant on Lichenya River, one of the major rivers on the eastern slopes of Mulanje Mountain in southern Malawi.
The Mulanje Renewable Energy [...]
SOUTH AFRICA: Saving Water, Money and Improving Livelihoods
By Busani Bafana
The Orange-Senqu catchment or river basin supplies water to municipalities in South Africa, and neighbouring countries Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia. / Orasecom
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 3 (IPS) – For many months now, a hosepipe connected to a leaking cistern in Isaac Mooi's outside toilet daily pours an estimated 100 litres of wasted water into [...]
Keep water infrastructure in shape: SADC
Officials at the SADC water talks in Lesotho say it is important to keep the southern African region’s water infrastructure in ship-shape condition. Zukiswa Zimela compiled this audio report.
