South Africa's department of human settlements, water and sanitation has allocated R143-million for drought relief in Moutse in Limpopo province.

The funds will be administered by water board Lepelle Northern Water within Sekhukhune district municipality towards drilling new boreholes and refurbishing existing ones, it said in a statement.

Five water tankers and 20 tanks were donated to the municipality when human settlements minister Lindiwe Sisulu visited the area on Friday.

Sisulu assured the Moutse community that additional water tanks would be provided to ensure all residents had the resource, with priority given to the elderly, schools, the local police station and the area's Philadelphia Hospital.

Sisulu's department said the minister apologised to the community on behalf of the government for the long-standing water challenges in the area.

"I have tasked the municipality and Lepelle Northern Water to work together to ensure that the community of Sekhukhune has access to water," Sisulu said, adding that this was an interim measure until the initiation of sustainable water reticulation projects in the area.