The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo welcomes the SAHRC’s call to declare the water crisis a national disaster, but believe that there is a constitutional obligation on the SAHRC to secure redress for the violation of human rights in court to compel government into action.
The DA is vindicated that the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has confirmed what we already have been stating: that the ongoing downward trend regarding water distribution and water management has now reached crisis proportions.
In their media statement released yesterday, the SAHRC affirmed that they key drivers of the water crisis is man made; the statement cites among others: “insufficient attention and allocation of budget for the maintenance of water infrastructure; insufficient planning for population growth; high levels of water losses beyond the acceptable norms; the lack of skilled personnel in water units; and the scourge of water infrastructure vandalism and the emergence of water mafias.”
Over the last decade, we conducted multiple oversights, laid complaints with the SAHRC, opened criminal cases against officials who disregard the people’s constitutional right to water, to no avail.
The SAHRC report on Access to Water and the Efficacy of Water Services Authorities in Limpopo in 2023 highlighted the following concerns:
- Only 49% of Limpopo has a reliable supply of water.
- In the 2021/22 Financial Year, Limpopo Municipalities only spent 1,8% of the value of total infrastructure assets, which is far below the National Treasury norm of 8%.
- All the Water Service Authorities (WSA’s) in Limpopo were found to be non-compliant with the Water Services Act and Compulsory Standards, or in violation of their obligations to supply water to some of the communities within their jurisdiction.
- COGHSTA had not effectively carried out its role as an oversight body, in terms of ensuring that access to water is a reality within the Limpopo Province.
- Limpopo Municipalities have underspent on their Water Services Infrastructure Grants, or used the grant monies for other purposes.
- The Blue Drop report for 2022 found that in Limpopo, 52.8% of the WSA’s do not comply with microbiological determinants, which indicates microbiological failures and a serious health risk to the consumers in these areas, and only 10% have sufficient microbiological samples based on population size.
The SAHRC’s 26 recommendations to the WSA’s and oversight authorities, COGHSTA and the Premier include investigations into grant applications and expenditure and concluded by saying “This report is a wake-up call to the Government to accelerate the pace of ensuring that the right of access to sufficient water is the Limpopo Province, and the entire country does not remain an illusory dream for many.”
It’s been three years since the Limpopo Report and the provincial water crisis has deepened; access to water continues to decline; 20.5% of Limpopo households have no access to piped water, against a national average of 8.7% and water losses are increasing – Polokwane City records 38% water losses.
Access to water is a human right protected by Section 27 of The Constitution and government’s longstanding violation of this fundamental right must be remedied.