It is a disaster. That is the opinion of the Greytown mayor Thami Ngubane of the town’s dire water situation. Ngubane has now admitted that the municipality is partly to blame for the situation faced by residents of the parched town. Three weeks since Greytown’s taps ran dry, residents took the mayor to task last week over the water crisis the town faces.

Greytown residents gathered at the city hall at a public meeting held by Ngubane on Thursday to discuss the drought situation the town and surrounding areas are facing. Ngubane said things had “gone from bad to worse” regarding the water available to locals. “Our main source of water has been Lake Merthley but since the drought the water levels have dropped dramatically and as a response to this, we had to implement water restrictions,” he said. “Last year, we decided to have water in the taps from 4 am to 8 am and then again at 4 pm to 8 pm.”