DA threatens Pol Municipality with court over water

The Democratic Alliance (DA) representation in Polokwane municipal council is adamant to pursue the institution’s failure to supply sufficient water to its residents in a court of law if the local authority persists to fail to execute its duties as called for in the Constitution and regulations promulgated by the Minister of Water and Sanitation.
This follows DA councillors Frank Haas and Franco Marx obtaining more than 1 500 signatures to a petition that was delivered to Polokwane Municipal Manager Dikgape Makobe last Wednesday.
“If the municipality does not act decisively to deal with the ongoing water crisis as a matter of urgency, we will approach a competent court of law to ensure that residents are no longer deprived from their constitutional right of access to water and sanitation,” Marx said.
In the petition, the DA quoted section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution as the legal prescript for the municipality to provide a sufficient supply of water to its consumers. They furthermore quote the regulations that was promulgated by the Minister of Water and Sanitation that specify that a local authority must provide a minimum quantity of potable water of 25 litres per person per day or six kilolitres per household per month at a minimum flow rate of not less than 10 litres per minute and with an effectiveness such that no consumer is without a supply for more than seven full days in any year.
“It is clear that the municipality has failed dismally in this respect and clearly has neither the ability nor the will to comply with the legislation. Water shortages have become a rule more than an exception and some consumers were without water for more than two weeks in the recent past,” Marx said. He added that notwithstanding numerous instances where the situation was brought to the attention of the municipality, it still ignores its constitutional and legislative duties owed to the residents of the city.

Story: BARRY VILJOEN
>>barryv.observer@gmail.com