Limpopo High Court limits operating hours over lack of water
Last week, the Limpopo High Court issued a directive that its operations were limited to five hours a day due to a lack of water in the building.
POLOKWANE – Operations in the highest office of the judiciary in Limpopo drew a setback last week when business in the High Court building in the city was halted due to a shortage of water in the facility.
Last Friday, Judge President of the Limpopo Division of the High Court, George Phatudi said in a notice to judges and staff that was also forwarded to legal practitioners in the province, that his office has “noted with utter concern the on-going lack of potable water reticulation on the Polokwane High Court over the past 2-3 weeks.”
Phatudi added that his office is mindful that the persistent water shortages constitute serious health risks naturally offending everyone’s right to a healthy work environment envisaged in section 24, read with section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution.
“In the circumstances, it is directed that the court operations, except in urgent applications, will commence during normal working days from 08:00-13:00, until water is fully restored to the court building,” the judge president ordered and added that the directive will come into operation with immediate effect.
Members of the legal fraternity in the province expressed their dismay at the situation. “This will result in fewer cases being finalised and a further backlog in the rolls, affecting every citizen,” a practitioner who elected to remain anonymous for professional reasons, remarked.
Over the weekend, the municipality attended to the problem and on Monday, Phatudi issued a new directive, withdrawing last Friday’s order. “I am delighted to mention that after emergency intervention by officials of the local authority over the weekend, water is for now restored and the situation is back to normal,” he said, and confirmed that the temporary court operation hours referred to in the previous notice, were withdrawn.
Responding to a request for comment on the matter, spokesperson for the municipality, Thipa Selala confirmed that the situation has been rectified.
“We have successfully resolved the issue of the blocked strainer in the vicinity of the High Court on October 13. At present, the municipality is not experiencing any water supply challenges affecting the High Court,” Selala said.
The ongoing water crisis in the city is, however, still a matter of great displeasure for residents although some improvement in the availability of water in some areas has been noted during the last week.
Residents are still signing the petition that is circulated by the DA and it is not certain when the document will be handed to the municipality.
DA caucus leader in the municipality, Jacques Joubert said on Tuesday that the public can still append their signatures to the petition which aims to compel the municipality to supply a consistent and sustainable water supply to its residents.
