By: Natasha Archary
John Steenhuisen, leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) will lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission over the ongoing Gauteng water shedding.
On Friday, 17 November Steenhuisen will escalate the continuous water shedding issue that is plaguing Gauteng residents, and robbing their constitutional right to water.
The DA leader says there is no water shortage in Gauteng and yet taps in parts of the province is running dry, because of incompetence and an infrastructure problem that is not being prioritized.
“They would like to tell you that there is a water shortage in Gauteng, let me tell you there’s no water shortage in Gauteng.
It’s not a desert. This isn’t the Kalahari or the Sahara desert, where there’s no rainfall.
The dams are full.
The Vaal dam is 72% full.
This isn’t a situation where there isn’t enough water, there’s plenty of water.
The fact is that the infrastructure has been broken, and stolen by a government that does not care.
Under the provincial government, Rand Water’s R32 billion Capex programme to restore its assets and renew infrastructure is now 10-years late.
The people of Gauteng have been fed the same old lies, the same old promises, the same old nonsense. The National Department’s website, you were with the Minister yesterday, Solly and you can see how out of touch he is with the situation on the ground.
Do you know what the slogan is on their website? “Water is life. Sanitation is dignity,” and I say to that Amen!
If that is true, then Senzo Mchunu, and the Premier of this province, and those rotten local governments have robbed the people of dignity, and have robbed them of their lives.”
John Steenhuisen said there’s no need for Gauteng to be water shed because there’s no water shortage in the province
Water shortages have been recurring in Gauteng all year, with a number of hospitals being severely affected from March to September.
Water problems are not only because of Rand Water or municipality cuts – no fewer than 11 hospitals lost water because of internal pipe breakages. These include the Chris Hani Baragwanath, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg, George Mukhari, Steve Biko, Tembisa, Kalafong, Edenvale, Leratong, Yusuf Dadoo, Kopanong and Jubilee hospitals.
Also read: Lesufi receives backlash for support of Heineken “taverns of the future” project
