Dire water shortage hits city

CHALLENGE: SCHOOL OWNER SPENDS TIME FETCHING WATER INSTEAD OF ATTENDING TO KIDS

- Louise Dewast

Joyce Lakela runs a nursery in Tembisa, but these days she spends most of her time fetching water.

"It's been going on for five days," she said, lamenting shortages affecting South Africa's largest city where temperatures are rising with the beginning of summer. "This is a big challenge," the elderly woman said, after filling up a large bin with water from a tanker. "The kids have to wash their hands, we have to flush the toilets, and we also have to wash the kids."

The crisis is the result of restrictions imposed by Joburg to stop overconsumption and allow maintenance work.