By AZAD ESSA —

South Africa is facing its worst drought since 1982, with more than 2.7-million households facing water shortages across the country.

Lennox Mabaso, spokesperson for the Department of local government in KwaZulu-Natal, told Al Jazeera that the drought, concentrated in provinces of Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, was beginning to impact on livelihoods and draining the economy.

“The dams are at an all-time low. This is an epic drought and government is doing the best it can do. As you can imagine, it requires a lot of resources and its impacting everyone, rich and poor,” Mabaso said.

The ministry declared the KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces as disaster areas and warned that some 6 500 rural communities across four provinces face water shortages.

South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, has already implemented water restrictions.

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