The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) slammed several municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal for violating the most basic human right - access to clean drinking water - leaving residents across the province in dire and unhygienic situations.
The SAHRC’s investigation into the KZN water crisis climaxed on Monday, after it released its final report following an inquiry in August 2022.
The investigation sought to uncover the truth about allegations made by over 600 complainants, citing challenges to access water and a lack of water over a prolonged period.
“Complainants express concern at the quality of water provided when services resume, and what they see as unfair billing practices during periods of no water provision, in the form of estimated charges, and continued billing,” the SAHRC report read.
“Residents who pay for water services are particularly aggrieved at not receiving water despite paying for this.
“This is evident in complaints from Alfred Duma local municipality, where water is not available at night and over weekends, and eThekwini district municipality, with areas such as Newlands West, Tongaat, Durban, Umlazi and Lamontville experiencing water interruptions on a daily basis,” the SAHRC report said.
The entire KZN infrastructure, from water and sanitation to electricity, suffered a major blow in 2021 after heavy rains caused flooding that swept away thousands of homes and claimed over 400 lives.
The province’s water infrastructure took a major knock, and in the aftermath residents were left without water for extended periods of time. In Tongaat, a community north of Durban, residents were without water for 85 days after the floods.
“In King Cetshwayo district municipality, Umlalazi local municipality residents complained that they have received no water for years. In the Ugu district municipality, in Margate and Hibberdene, no water has been available for five months, yet residents are billed in full.”
While delivering the report in Durban on Monday, Commissioner Philile Ntuli mentioned that in some parts of KZN, residents share a water source with animals.
Municipalities do not have a problem collecting money for services they are not providing, the report indicates, but what exactly has been done with the taxpayers money is still yet to be determined.
Maintenance and upgrades have been a sore point, as the SAHRC found numerous municipalities in KZN do not have an appropriate plan to upgrade ageing infrastructure or provide one if there is a lack thereof.
In Port Shepstone, in the Ugu District, the SAHRC said there was no evidence of maintenance for the past 25 years. By this factor, one can only guess what the inside of these pipes delivering drinking water look like.
Due to it being such a necessary substance, the lack of water has had a snowball effect and caused other challenges like health concerns in areas where there is no proper water and sanitation services.
“Most complaints pertaining to water interruptions reflect interruptions for extended periods of time, with poor response from municipalities, and offices allegedly being closed as early as 10h30.
“The impact of resulting water shortages is felt acutely by local schools, hospitals, old age homes, crèches and businesses, and emerging health crises are seen, exacerbated by the presence of sewage,” the report said.
Thirty years into a democracy, where political leaders made huge promises about housing and other basic services, residents collecting water in buckets and bottles are still a daily affair in KwaZulu-Natal.
In Isipingo, south of Durban, where residents have gone for almost a month without running water, local resident Annalize Pillai explained how this had an effect on the elderly residents of the community.
The Alfred Duma Municipality, in the uThukela District, residents could arguably be considered to have bore the brunt, as residents said water is unavailable in the evenings for the past five years in the Colenso area.
“Since July 2022, residents report that water is not available from Friday afternoon to late Monday morning and shut down daily from 21h00.
“These water interruptions, experienced mostly at night and on weekends, mean that communities go for days without water, and toilets are unflushed, causing nausea and illness. Residents reported that no water tankers are sent to assist them,” the report stated.
Despite the inquiry focusing mainly on the lack of access to clean drinking water, the issue of sewage was also a huge factor that was discussed in tandem with it, the SAHRC final report suggested.
The attempt by municipalities to rectify this water issue by means of water tankers has failed dismally, as the water tanker solution became a highly politicized and exploited system that failed to service its purpose in many areas.
IOL