Warning against restricting water access

THE water crisis affecting the Phoenix community was a poor reflection on the municipality’s ability to provide a basic need, human rights lawyer and activist Previn Vedan said.

He added that access to clean water was a fundamental human right recognised by South African law.

“While I acknowledge the challenges faced by municipalities in managing water supply, any decision to restrict access must be approached with extreme caution. On the one hand, municipalities need to balance the demand and supply of water to ensure sustainability,” Vedan said.

“On the other hand, the impact on residents, who rely on this basic necessity for their daily lives, cannot be ignored. It is crucial for the authorities to explore alternative solutions, prioritise infrastructure improvements, and engage with the community to find a sustainable resolution.”

He said there should be collaborative effort between government bodies, community leaders, and residents to address these challenges, and added: “It is our collective responsibility to ensure that the right to water is upheld while working towards long-term solutions that benefit everyone involved.”

Seelan Achary, an activist and community leader, said while residents were being proactive and storing water, it was ridiculous for the municipality to now call for people to harvest rainwater and not fill up their tanks.

“As activists, we have been encouraging people to store water safely for everyday use since the water cuts. We rely on water for a multitude of purposes, including household use, health purposes, toilets and bathing. It’s near impossible to run a home without water.

“People have been told to store water for emergencies and resorted to purchasing small JoJo tanks, only to be told to stop during a time when the water crisis is peaking. Embarrassingly, on the part of the municipality, water cuts are ongoing with no end in sight, leading people to purchase the tanks as opposed to storing water in buckets.

“Residents have small JoJo tanks and they pay for the water so there should be no negative strain or effect on the supply of water,” Achary added.