Durban — The DA in KwaZulu-Natal has applauded the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) for its decision to host public hearings regarding the water crisis in uThukela district.
The commission set new dates for its KZN Inquiry on access to water.
The provincial inquiry which was initially scheduled for July, is expected to kick off in Durban from August 15 to 19.
The postponement scheduling in July came about as the commission was seeking to hear from various stakeholders.
The SAHRC said the crisis has been running for five years and has crippled various towns in the province such as Ladysmith, Estcourt and Bergville.
The inquiry is set to determine whether water service authorities in KwaZulu-Natal violated residents’ rights to access clean drinking water. It will also look at the interventions being implemented by the state to resolve and prevent the recurrence of the violations.
According to the DA, in recent weeks basic water supply in Colenso had allegedly been intermittent for weeks with outages lasting from hours to days at a time.
The DA said Midlands Orphanage Care Centre was among the affected and had been struggling with intermittent water supply for two weeks which was also affecting hygiene standards in the communal living environment.
The party said it had been filing various complaints and requests for an urgent investigation and recommendations since 2020.
“The Midlands Orphanage and Care Centre has endured a daily struggle to ensure that its 150 young children are hydrated and fed. Many of the required hygiene standards for communal living are a daily struggle as water is the basis of life and hygiene,” the DA said.
“We are hopeful that this time, these hearings will not be rescheduled so we can be able to get this process going and provide much-needed relief for residents. The ongoing pleas from the Colenso community seem to have fallen on deaf ears with water outages continuing unabated.”
Daily News