By Nasseem Ackbarally

Mauritius has been experiencing a water shortage for months as the anticipated summer rains are yet to arrive with the season close to its end. / Nasseem Ackbarally/IPS

PORT-LOUIS, Mar 19 (IPS) – Rani Murthy, a public officer who lives in Plaines Wilhems, central Mauritius, wakes at three every morning to wait for [...]

By Fidelis Zvomuya
 

Frank Chauke from Makakavhule Village returns home after fetching water from 5 kms away. / Fidelis Zvomuya

BEITBRIDGE, Zimbabwe, Mar 15 (IPS) – Chapita Ramovha remembers the days when the Limpopo River lapped at the foot of his village in south Zimbabwe. He says that back then residents of Makakavhule village had to build [...]

Rain in Johannesburg. Credit: Tinus de Jager/IPS

 
The Department of Water Affairs in South Africa wants its early warning system on flooding to work in rural areas and says education is the way to go. Zukiswa Zimela reports.

By Louise Redvers

Joaquina Xavier – who currently collects water from the river – in front of the new AQUAtap machine in her village. / Louise Redvers/IPS

LUANDA, Mar 9 (IPS) – The brightly painted old shipping container with solar panels on its roof and high-specification filtration devices inside looks out of place in this dusty [...]

By Ignatius Banda

Women in rural Zimbabwe are coming up with solutions to water shortages aggravated by climate change. / Ignatius Banda/IPS

PLUMTREE, Zimbabwe, Mar 2 (IPS) – Beauty Moyo’s desire for access to water has finally been met. The rains that fell in the past week after a long dry patch have awakened this small-holder [...]

Southern Africa has had more than its average rainfall since November of 2011 and forecasters are predicting even more rain until the end of March. But, as Tinus de Jager reports, it seems as if this rain is not benefitting the smaller farmers of the region.

Rapid urbanisation in South Africa is affecting the water quality of  the river systems.

By Lee Middleton

Zothe, the school caretaker at Three Crowns Rural School in Lady Frere District oversees the feeding of the bio-digester. / David Oldfield/IPS

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, Mar 1 (IPS) – Tucked against the rolling hills of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, a small rural school has been turning its kitchen scraps, and [...]

By Moustapha Keita

Guinea faces acute problems in the supply of clean water and electricity to its citizens, slowing the country's economic development. / Soman/Wikkicommons

CONAKRY, Mar 1 (IPS) – Guinea faces acute problems in the supply of clean water and electricity to its citizens, slowing the country's economic development. A major project to address [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]