Six more towns in the Northern Cape with dry taps: answers and action needed now
AfriForum is calling on the Northern Cape Premier, Dr. Zamani Saul, various Northern Cape departments, district municipalities, and the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to urgently investigate the challenges regarding water supply, which are currently affecting eight towns in the Northern Cape.
De Aar, Loxton, Vaalharts, Delportshoop, Kakamas, and Keimoes are suffering from erratic water supply with no indication of when this will be resolved.
Lize-Mari Smit, AfriForum’s district coordinator for the Karoo, believes that this situation is not a simple technical problem; it is now a crisis that threatens the health and dignity of residents. It also has an impact on the stability of the local economy. The lack of clean, running water violates residents’ right to water as contained in section 27 (1)(b) of the Constitution.
The organisation requests that the authorities do the following:
- investigate the water supply issue affecting the eight towns;
- to liaise with the respective municipalities regarding their lack of adequate written feedback and remedial action;
- to ensure that immediate measures are implemented to restore and stabilise the water supply; and
- confirm what supervisory, supportive, or enforcement steps will be taken to prevent further disruptions.
The national minimum standard for water supply is as follows:
- at least 25 litres of water per person per day;
- minimum flow rate of 10 litres per minute;
- reliable water supply that ensures that residents are not without water for more than seven days per year.
If water outages last longer than 24 hours, there must be an emergency water supply of at least 10 liters of potable water per person per day.
In their letter, AfriForum confirmed their willingness to participate in meaningful discussions with local government departments in order to find solutions to various problems.
