Yet despite the legal recognitions and protections, a large proportion of people in South Africa are still living without safely managed water and sanitation. More particularly, marginalized groups are often overlooked, and sometimes face discrimination, as they try to access the water and sanitation services they need.

Dysfunction in the provision of the rights to water and sanitation undermines progress in other major global issues, such as health, food, gender equality, jobs, education and general peace. Further, marginalized groups such as women, children, refugees, persons with disabilities, and many others – are often overlooked by, and sometimes face active discrimination from, those planning and governing water and sanitation improvements and services.

The Commission has progressively found that factors contributing to the deprivation of the right to water and sanitation include, amongst others: aged and unmaintained infrastructure, a lack of technical skills particularly in municipalities, insufficient planning and budgeting, corruption, maladministration, lack of consequence management, and at times political infighting that affects the delivery of services.

The Commission calls on national, provincial and local government to work together to accelerate change in the protection of the right to water, and sanitation.

The Commission calls on the public to also play their role in preserving water resources, protecting water infrastructure in their communities from vandalism, and to report deprivations of the rights to water and sanitation to the Commission.

Ends
Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission
Wisani Baloyi – Acting Communications Coordinator Tel: 081 016 8308 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Alucia Sekgathume – External Communications Tel: 082 689 2364 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.