DA lays complaint over South Hills water tower crisis
“Clinics and schools were forced to shut down.”
The DA Johannesburg ward councillors in wards 56 and 57 laid a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) over the ongoing South Hills water tower crisis that has affected at least seven suburbs across the two wards.
This crisis has been going on for an unacceptably long time as it has been carrying on for almost a month, and there have been regular water outages emanating from this water for at least four years.
Section 27(1) (B) of the Constitution of the Republic of SA says everyone has the right to fair access to water, and we feel this right has been violated.
As councillors, we will continue to exhaust all avenues available to us in terms of engaging with Joburg Water daily and asking questions in council.
We have submitted a motion to the council’s Programming Committee to consider placing this crisis on the next council agenda. However, we also felt the need to escalate this crisis to the SAHRC because institutions like clinics and schools have been forced to close, and residents in general forced to live in unhygienic conditions.
Water trucks have been periodically dispatched to the affected areas. However, it is difficult for people like the elderly, injured and infirm to carry buckets of water to their homes.
Then, some don’t have cars. At least half of the water splashes out of their containers while they walk home.
We will carefully monitor the SAHRC’s investigation into the matter and will continue to look at what other steps we can take to resolve this crisis.
Clrs Michael Crichton and Faeeza Chame
WATCH: Fiery protest erupts over water issues in South Hills
