The commission was particularly concerned that the eThekwini Municipality has failed to meet its selfimposed deadline of last week to deal with the water outages, she said. "The metro had committed to resolve the ongoing water supply challenges to affected areas by Thursday, February 15." In its 2022 inquiry report, the commission found that water services authorities, such as the metro, were in violation of the rights to access clean drinking water, she said. The commission was concerned that not much seems to be done to arrest this ongoing violation of the constitutional right to have access to water in the metro, she said. "The commission is doubtful that the metro has the capacity to turn this dire situation around, given that a report indicates that the water and sanitation unit of the metro a key vehicle in water provision has no strategic business plan in place and is currently beset by a 52% vacancy rate." As a result, Padayachee said the commission will on March 6 convene a meeting of water experts who reside in the metro. "The Commission calls on water experts, such as water engineers among others, to indicate their interest to attend the meeting by sending their RSVPs to Andrea Pillay at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Mandy Ramare at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to reach the commission by Thursday, February 29." The Constitution empowers the SAHRC to promote the protection and attainment of human rights. "As such, litigation is an option the commission can take in addressing this water crisis in eThekwini." The SAHRC continues to monitor the ongoing water challenges in the jurisdiction of eThekwini, she said.

Source: The Mercury