Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says her department has procured water tanks which have been distributed across the country to ensure water supply during the lockdown.

Sisulu said government is working very hard to ensure that drought-stricken areas and informal settlements have water as South Africa fights the COVID-19 outbreak.

The minister said that government has targeted 2 000 communities across the country that are in desperate need of support.

Her department has went further and identified locations within those communities where the installation of water tanks will be of the most significant benefit.

These locations including schools, churches, police stations and in some rural areas they will be installed on or near the land of tribal chiefs.

“We have gone ahead with the procurement of water tanks. We have procured 41,000 of them. We have currently procured 2 342 for the Eastern Cape, 1 700 for the Free State, 12 130 for Gauteng, 4 274 for KwaZulu-Natal, 1 200 for Limpopo, we are still working on Mpumalanga to provide them with 600 tanks and North West with a further 600.

“We are hoping if we carry on at this rate, we will be able to cover all those areas that are badly in need of water.”

Sisulu encouraged South Africans to observe good personal hygiene practices and has appealed to private businesses and South Africans to work with the government to curb the spread of coronavirus, by ensuring that people have access to water.