S. Africa’s $40 Billion Water Gap Threatens Economy

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-15/south-africa-s-40-billion-water-gap-threatens-economy.html

Crumbling canals, dams and pipelines and a lack of funds to expand, replace and maintain them threatens to stymie economic growth and efforts to tackle a 25 percent unemployment rate in Africa’s biggest economy. 

Water infrastructure requires investment of 670 billion rand ($76 billion) over the next decade, the Department of Water Affairs said in an Aug. 17 study. That’s almost double the available funding, leaving a gap of 338 billion rand. The report says businesses need to anticipate supply disruptions, higher bills and more regulation in a country that gets less rain than neighbors Namibia and Botswana, famed for their deserts.