Authorities must be held responsible for deaths

Seventeen people dead simply because they consumed water. No, this is not ancient times but democratic, modern-day SA where, by yesterday, at least 17 people, including a three-year-old, had already died in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria. It is believed the death toll could be higher, as some deaths might not have been recorded. While the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality is scrambling to determine the source of the cholera outbreak, that Hamaanskraal’s drinking water is neither clean nor safe is nothing new, with many reports pointing to years of infrastructural neglect being behind the poor water quality.

Writing in Daily Maverick, Dr Aslam Dasoo, who is convener of the Progressive Health Forum, said all those responsible should be identified and sued.

“When the sorrow has eased and the grieving is done and when they [family and friends] realise that the deaths of their beloved were preventable and that those who should have prevented them were otherwise engaged in the caricature of public service that masquerades as municipal government, the anguish and anger will be immense,” he writes.

“After naming [those responsible], sue them, in their personal capacities and their respective parties, for causing these negligent, wrongful and unforgivable deaths.”

And yes, it is completely unforgivable that people are dying from something as simple as drinking water.

Water which, according to SA’s constitution, everyone has a right to. We agree with Dasoo.

Those responsible should be held responsible but it should not stop at civil suits.

They should face criminal charges: murder or, at the least, culpable homicide because surely they were well aware what the outcome of their actions — or failure to respond to the appalling water conditions — would be? If not, should they even be in those positions? As this Hammanskraal outbreak has proven, providing potable water can become a matter of life and death.

Governments, non-governmental organisations and communities need to come together if we are to prevent another tragedy such as this.

We need to eradicate cholera — especially cholera that could have and should have been prevented unlike in disaster or war struck countries. Improved sanitation, access to clean water sources and basic hygiene practices will be crucial in preventing further spread of the disease.