The Democratic Alliance (DA) will report Rustenburg Local Municipality to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for failing to provide bulk water services to the Nkandla section for nearly a year and for failing to prevent and resolve the sewage spill in the area.
The municipality started work on the borehole in June 2020 to supply water to the area, but to date, the taps still run dry and residents have not had a single drop of water. See photo here, here , here and here.
Residents are forced to collect water in buckets from neighbouring townships just to be able to bathe, do laundry, and do other daily activities.
The delay in utilising the reservoir is caused by the electricity department’s failure to connect electricity to the borehole to pump water into the reservoir.
The DA also found the Nkandla community surrounded by dams of raw sewage which poses a serious health risk to residents. See photo here, here and here.
The DA will engage the Municipal Manager, Victor Makona, requesting him to urgently instruct the electrical department to complete all outstanding work on the borehole so that residents can have access to water.
We will also ask the Municipal Manager to initiate a clean-up campaign of the sewage spill and to unblock sewerage pipes.
Water is a basic human right and the municipality’s failure to provide clean water to residents for more than a year is a human rights violation.
Residents are also entitled to live in a clean environment, free of sewage waste pollution.
A DA government in Rustenburg will prioritise service delivery that will restore the dignity of residents which have been neglected for years by the failed governance of the ANC.