JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) is taking the City of Johannesburg and Joburg Water to court over the metro’s ongoing water crisis.
The legal action comes as Johannesburg households brace for a proposed 65% hike in the city’s water demand management levy from July.
This comes despite persistent outages, leaking infrastructure, and mounting frustration over water shortages.
READ | Joburg proposes steep water levy jump
In a statement on Monday, the DA said," The court application makes it clear that the crisis facing Johannesburg is not the result of an unavoidable disaster, but rather the direct consequence of political failure, poor governance, and deliberate inaction by the mayor and his mayoral committee and the administration."
The DA says the city has failed to uphold residents’ constitutional right to water.
It also accuses the city of failing to implement Johannesburg’s 2023 Water Turnaround Strategy, aimed at fixing the collapsing system.
The party has filed court papers against Johannesburg Water, the City, and Executive Mayor Dada Morero.
The City and the mayor have 10 days to respond to the application.