North West farmers continue to lose animals due to drought

• News & Highlights

Emerging livestock farmers in the North West continue to lose their animals due to the drought in the province.

Several dams in the region, including Molatedi Dam outside Rustenburg which supplies both residents in South Africa and Botswana, have seen a drop in water levels.

In its full capacity Molatedi Dam supplied water to the Botswana capital, Gaborone. But now the dam is at 4% level.

It is the only water source for both animals and villagers of Molatedi.

Mothibedi Rakobedi a farmer says, “The life is tough here, our cattle are dying in the dam mud, because they are in bad conditions they cannot move out after drinking water.”

“We are patrolling everyday along the dam, to see whether our cattle are not stuck in the mud,” says another farmer James Monye.

The community's only hope now is government's drought relief programmes.

Molatedi villagers are entirely dependent on their livestock for their livelihood and survival.