Mashatile reveals he's been tasked with preventing a water crisis in SA

CAPE TOWN - Deputy President Paul Mashatile has highlighted the urgent need for water-related challenges to be addressed.

He said that while load shedding needed to be solved to grow the economy, water may be the next crisis.

Mashatile was addressing residents in Imizamo Yethu in Cape Town on Sunday, where he called on the community to vote for the African National Congress (ANC) in the May elections.

The deputy president told Imizamo Yethu residents that he had been instructed by the president to prevent a water crisis from happening.

"A week ago on Wednesday, the president said to me: 'I'm setting up a water task team and I want you to head it because I can see that we may get to a crisis. Go and solve this problem throughout the country. Take some of the ministers with you.'"

He also assured residents that the governing party was doing all it could to solve load shedding.

Mashatile said that load shedding would be resolved and the electricity minister would have to plan for the next ten years by building new generation.