why would they not move water from one place in SA to another Not my area of expertise, but: South Africa has some massive water transfer schemes: The Lesotho

why would they not move water from one place in SA to another Not my area of expertise, but: South Africa has some massive water transfer schemes: The Lesotho Highlands Water Project and others. The Western Cape Province and Cape Town are governed by the national opposition party (Democratic Alliance). It wouldn't surprise me if this led to a lack of coordination and plannning with the national government, if not outright neglect of the issue (along with general infrastructure-planning neglect between 1990-2005 or so).