South Africa’s largest poultry farm, Astral Foods, which is seeing its profits wane, is powerless due to water shortages in Standerton.
Due to the severe water crisis, the poultry farm became obliged to exploit its own water source by sinking boreholes in order to survive.
The poor management of the municipality to fail to supply water has driven the company out of millions of Rand.
The costs incurred, amid a poor economic situation in the country, as well as the ever-rising cost of fodder to be purchased, have left the company behind.
Economists point out that the water crisis not only causes great economic consequences in Standerton, but also in the Vaal Dam and other larger water storage ponds are serious problems, and the hope is that the Katsedam in Lesotho is in a position to water to provide when the tunnel maintenance is completed by the end of November.