Johannesburg - While efforts to tackle the water crisis in drought stricken Western Cape have been lauded, residents from other provinces have been cautioned against sending donated water to the province.
Earlier this week, humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers announced it was sending a consignment of bottled water from various provinces to the province in preparation for Day Zero.
The organisation said it had set up collection points at more than 70 collection points throughout the country and urged the public to donate water or money to the cause.
Gift of the Givers Foundation founder Imtiaz Sooliman added that they have been receiving calls from more than 30 groups of people in the country who wanted to donate water.
The Department of Water and Sanitation on Wednesday cautioned against this, warning that the country had not yet left the drought season.
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"South Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are still in drought season and it's important to not view the efforts outside this context."
"We haven't left the drought and therefore should be careful how we go about doing things," spokesperson Sputnik Ratau said.
He added that while the situation in the Western Cape was dire, it had not reached a point where water had to be cut down.
Furthermore, the fact that efforts were not as organised could result in water levels in provinces where the donated water is coming from being affected.
This is especially the case in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, where dam levels in certain areas had not yet fully recovered.
"All of us have an interest in the situation... we are in this together and that's why we'll continue engaging and perhaps in future, revisit the idea," he said.