SAHRC releases report on access to water in Limpopo

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The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) released its report of its inquiry into access to water. The report also looks at the efficacy of water services authorities in Limpopo.

An increasingly concerning number of complaints have been received from members of the public regarding their lack of access to water.

Municipalities around the province are struggling to provide water. According to the findings, the problems are due to a number of factors. Though there is drought and lack of adequate rain, other challenges can be attributed to water services authorities failing to manage resources.

“We released this report in the backdrop of the Census by Statistics South Africa which indicated that there is an increase in access to basic services across the country. But, of course, there are exceptions based on context and this has been alluded to more than once, we see that while in other areas access to basic services is increasing, there are areas that are regressing and are of serious concern to us as a Commission and one of those provinces is, of course, Limpopo when it comes to access to water,” says SAHRC commissioner Philile Ntuli.

Access to water in the province has reduced over the years. Municipalities are not providing funds for water provision.

Research advisor, Peacemore Mhodi says, “In Limpopo for the financial year 2021/2022 municipalities spent a combined R606 million on repairs and maintenance which presents 1.8 % of the value of the total infrastructure assets and as you know the National Treasury said it’s 8% but here, we find that municipalities are spending 1.8 % meaning that they are not really setting aside sufficient funds.”

Municipalities around the province are expected to provide the commission with a detailed plan with timeframes within three months. Should the municipalities fail to submit, actions will be taken by the commission.

“We take this very seriously because this from the complaints that we received from the public and we must also say to you that you might look at the report and say the hearing was conducted back in 2021 but we must note is that we have done our work, we have also visited those places recently and we found that the situation has not changed so obviously we will look at the appropriate action because some of the respondents will say they will submit and they don’t and if need be, we will take them to court,” says Victor Mavhidula, provincial manager.

Insufficient access to water remains a significant challenge for many communities in the province.