JOHANNESBURG - The South African Human Rights Commission has launched an investigative inquiry into Gauteng’s deepening water crisis.
There has been a surge in complaints over widespread shortages, failing infrastructure and ongoing service delivery disruptions.
The Commission is warning that poor and marginalised communities are the hardest hit.
Water outages in those areas are undermining basic human rights, including access to health, dignity and safety.
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And they also give rise to the so-called water tanker mafias.
Public hearings are set for May, with submissions now open.
The inquiry will assess whether the crisis amounts to a systemic human rights violation and whether government has met its constitutional obligations to provide safe, reliable water.
Khululiwe Sithole from the SAHRC said over the last year, the commission has seen an increase in the number of complaints on water issues.
“The volume and nature of complaints that have made us take a decision to have the inquiry. We want to establish the root cause of the crisis so we are able to determine who is responsible for what.”
Sithole said most of the complaints stem from water treatment plants that have not been maintained.
She said the probe would also include interrogating alleged water mafias operating in the province.