SAHRC to kick off probe into Gauteng water crisis

JOHANNESBURG – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is holding a public inquiry into the Gauteng water crisis.

The commission says it has received numerous complaints about ongoing water shortages, aging infrastructure, and repeated service delivery failures.

Khululiwe Sithole from the SAHRC said over the last year, the commission has seen an increase in the number of complaints on water issues.

READ | No end in sight yet for Gauteng’s water woes

“We have had done quite a number of investigating on the individual complaints as they have come. But then we found that..It doesn’t solve the greater problem. You get the water disconnection in one particular area fixed for a week and then it reoccurred again.”

She said the commission aims to look at the systemic issue.

“It is not assisting us or the communities that require water to deal with these issues at an individual basis. I believe that the commission has acted at the appropriate time given the scale of the complaints that it has received.”