These complaints have highlighted significant issues affecting various communities, including:

•    lack of basic services and housing opportunities at the Waterloo informal settlement.
•    sewerage leakages and lack of provision of water services negatively impacting the entire city and surrounding areas.
•    long-standing lack of services at the Soekmekaar Informal Settlement.
•    poor management of wastewater treatment plants and flooding issues affecting restituted land belonging to the San people in Platfontein.

Despite several attempts to engage the municipality on these issues, including formal communications and reminders, the municipality has failed to respond adequately, necessitating the Commission to convene a stakeholder engagement with key stakeholders, including the Sol Plaatje Municipality, the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Northern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, the Provincial Treasury, and the Auditor General.

The stakeholder engagement is scheduled to take place as follows:

Date    : Tuesday, 21 May 2024
Time   : 10:00 AM to 13:00 PM
Venue : Garden Court Kimberley (120 Du Toitspan Road), Kimberley

The objectives of the engagement are to:

1.    afford the municipality with an opportunity to provide the reasons for the failures in the provision of water services.
2.    get an understanding of how the municipality plans to improve the provision of water services.
3.    evaluate the oversight mechanisms and enforcement actions by the Department of Water and Sanitation.
4.    assess whether are any constitutional and legislative interventions by the Northern Cape Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs are warranted.
5.    review the municipality’s compliance with funding criteria set by the National Treasury.
6.    consider insights from the Auditor General’s reports on the municipality’s performance.
7.    understand the role of the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Land Reform and Rural Development in ensuring environmental protection in relation to water quality and management of wastewater treatment plants.

The Commission expects this engagement to foster a clear understanding of the challenges and plans related to the provision of water services in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality. The engagement further aims to ensure that all relevant authorities are actively involved in resolving these critical issues.

Ends

Prepared by the Northern Cape Provincial Office of the South African Human Rights Commission.

For further information contact Mr. Uzair Adams, the Provincial Manager, at Tel: 054 332 3993; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Mr. Anthony Wyngaard, Senior Legal Officer at Tel: 054 332 3993 / Cell: ; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..