EThekwini residents affected by ongoing water outages, especially in Verulam, oThongathi, Phoenix and other surrounding areas, have called for the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to launch an investigation into the violation of their constitutional rights.
This after eThekwini Municipality admitted on Wednesday that it would not be able to meet Thursday’s deadline to restore water supply to all affected areas, and appealed for understanding while acknowledging that residents have been suffering for a prolonged period.
In a letter, addressed to SAHRC Commissioner Philile Ntuli, Verulam Water Crisis Committee spokesperson Roshan Lil-Ruthan, on behalf of citizens of Verulam and surrounding suburbs, called on the commission to launch an investigation into the violation of their constitutional rights.
He said the call for action came as the deadline to restore water to areas by on Thursday failed to materialise.
“In fact our reservoirs are empty this morning. We have been misled in public gatherings. We cannot allow our community to be publicly lied to. We are privy to information that even the end of February 2024 (deadline given to restore supply) will also not materialise.
“These are delaying tactics designed to undermine us and frustrate us. We kindly request that the investigation encompasses any alleged violation of a fundamental right as brought forth in our formal complaints or identified by the SAHRC through its own initiative.
“Our aim is to shed light on these matters, pave the way for justice, and ultimately secure the protection and preservation of human rights for all residents of Verulam and the surrounding suburbs,” he wrote.
Don Perumall, chairperson of the Tongaat Civic Association, said he agreed with the call for a commission to be launched to investigate the water issues in Verulam, oThongathi and Phoenix.
He questioned why some reservoirs were full and others empty and whether there was sabotage involved or lack of will by eThekwini Municipality.
“Is it based on race or low income, previously disadvantaged communities or a lack of will by the City?” he asked, adding that higher income areas received water while low income areas like Trenance Park did not.
In its KZN Water Inquiry 2022 report into the province’s municipalities and water authorities, the SAHRC found thatthere were “systemic failures in water provisioning, and the violation of multiple human rights”.
Speaking to “The Mercury” on Thursday, provincial SAHRC manager Pavershree Padayachee confirmed that the commission had received the letter. She said its previous Inquiry on Access to Water in 2022 in KZN had already noted some of the issues that persist in these areas.
“The commission has been actively involved in the war room meetings and we have also been engaging with the relevant authorities, some of which include the municipality, the mayor, MEC Cogta. These engagements remain on-going.”
Padayachee added that the SAHRC was concerned with the length of time residents in the area have been without water and the violation and impact of the constitutional right to have access to water remained a systemic violation that in turn impacted a host of other human rights as well.
“The commission is very concerned by the municipality’s failure to meet its deadline in this regard,” she said.
The Mercury