Answer:
The Eastern Cape is not the only area. Many areas of South Africa are suffering from drought. Many areas are close to the coast and desalination (as per a previous answer) is a distinct possibility. South Africa is of course having a running battle with Israel (a world authority on desalination) and it is therefore unlikely that anything of this nature will happen soon.
South Africa has many fast running rivers which are dry for most part of the year. Building dams should therefore be a priority, containing water normally running into the sea within days. It should also be possible to get water from areas north of South Africa, endowed with abundant water.
The drought is one issue. The other connected ones are lack of planning and over population. South Africa’s water problems (huge areas are arid even in the best of times) have been forecasted for decades and nothing has been done. The current water schemes date back to the sixties and seventies of the previous century.
For the moment prayer seems the only solution.
Its a huge problem…coastal areas might look at desalination. Boreholes might help where underground water is available. At the end of the day we still need the rain
