JOHANNESBURG - “It is a constitutional right, and it is an absolute right, and it is a right that the government must deliver.”
These are the words of DA Johannesburg Mayoral Candidate Helen Zille as she blasted the City of Johannesburg and Joburg Water over its failure to provide reliable water to residents.
The DA has filed court papers against the city and the water utility over the metro’s ongoing water crisis.
READ | DA takes Joburg Water, COJ to court over 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.
Zille said the party submitted extensive evidence to support their case.
“We submitted a 700-page affidavit including annexures and we had to do a lot of research because we had to show that across the board, from schools to other institutions, to old age homes, to institutions for the disabled, to individuals, to businesses, their lives were being fundamentally disrupted because of a lack of water.”
Zille has also accused the city of failing to implement Johannesburg’s 2023 Water Turnaround Strategy, aimed at fixing the collapsing system.
She said funding intended for water infrastructure has allegedly been diverted.
“The money for water gets swept into the general account of Johannesburg and gets used for everything else besides water. And so, without the money, you obviously can't implement the strategy”, she added
According to Zille, the rapid growth is worsening, with infrastructure failing to keep up with the increasing demand.
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.