Urgent intervention required for Verulam water
FOR an exorbitant seven days, most residents in Verulam have been deprived of the fundamental human right to access clean and safe water.
The unfathomable situation is exacerbated by the fact that certain areas have been without running water for more than 330 days: those along 12 major roads in Trenance Park and since 2021, Jacaranda Avenue in Mt View, Tea Estate, Buffelsdraai and Hazelmere.
The lack of access to water is not only an inconvenience for the residents but also poses severe health risks and threatens the basic dignity and well-being of our community.
We can no longer endure this neglect and disregard for our rights.
Under the South African Constitution, Section 27, every citizen has the right to have access to sufficient water, and it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the progressive realisation of this right. Additionally, the Water Services Act (Act No 108 of 1997) places a duty on municipalities to provide adequate water services to their residents.
It is evident that the mayor, eThekwini Municipality management and water and sanitation staff have failed in their duty to protect our rights. They have put our community in this dire situation. We demand immediate action and intervention from your esteemed offices to rectify the problem.
The minister of water affairs and sanitation suddenly decided to ghost our community simply because he failed and lied to us.
His time lines shifted and he made himself look like a fool. Fortunately, our community has seen through these lies spoken by politicians.
We have been civil, but that does not matter to them. We served a memorandum on the mayor and the KZN co-operative governance and tradition affairs MEC. It was ignored.
Furthermore, we are deeply concerned that if our grievances go unanswered, our community will have no choice but to engage in a major protest to demand justice and urgent action.
It is our responsibility to ensure that the voices of the oppressed are heard; we cannot allow this injustice to persist any longer. This will, unfortunately, be on your hands, now that I have informed you of the catastrophe.
We trust that the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Office of the Public Protector will swiftly and decisively intervene in the matter. We request that you conduct a thorough investigation into the causes of this prolonged water crisis, hold those responsible accountable and implement immediate measures to ensure an uninterrupted supply of water to our community.
The SAHRC has been equally lenient and has let us down. When we pointed this out to it, it ghosted and shunned our community. We reported this to the UN, thinking it would assist. Unfortunately, we exposed rot there as well.