Bloemfontein - Free State businesses are gearing up for the impending water-shedding.
The province was previously announced as the first to implement scheduled water-shedding across all municipalities.
This comes after minister for water affairs and sanitation, Nomvula Mokonyane, reportedly said the country would never implement water-shedding.
Fienes Meat Market owner Nick Geralys told News24 on Wednesday that he had put measures in place to ensure that his business survived the water-shedding.
“We are a butchery, so we have to make sure that our shop is always clean, therefore, we have stored water for our products. We have also installed smaller toilets, and limited the usage of water in everything we do,” he said.
At Van der Boons Bakery and Catering, owner Hardy Otto said he was worried that water-shedding would “cripple” his business.
“This is bad for us and it will definitely cripple us. I bake at night and in order for me to bake, I need water. I understand there should be water restrictions but this came at the worst time. Water shedding does not only affect me, but it affects the whole process of food,” he said.
However, Otto said he would be storing water in tanks as a solution.
Last week Moqhaka Local Municipality became the first municipality to institute water-shedding, leaving some communities with only a two-hour window period.
The municipality also announced that residents would be fined R2 000 if they water their gardens or wash their cars using hosepipes.
“We are still working on a system that will help us track down those who are misusing water. So far there are no reported cases,” said spokesperson Champ Tloome.