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Chris Hani District Municipality’s water and sanitation failures

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Dear MyPE

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application into the inability of the Chris Hani District Municipality (CHDM) to provide water and sanitation to the people residing in the district.

The residents of towns such as Cradock, Middelburg and Komani have endured desperate times, with taps running dry on a regular basis. Wastewater treatment works in Cradock and Middelburg are also still non-operational, causing raw sewage to flow into the Great Fish River, polluting water meant for human consumption.

I have written numerous letters to the Minister for Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, to bring the total collapse of water and sanitation services provided by the CHDM to her attention.

In February this year, I approached Minister Sisulu, requesting her to appoint a Water Services Committee in terms of Section 51 of the Water Services Act of 1997. This would effectively mean that the water and sanitation competency would be removed from the CHDM.

The minister has, to date, failed to respond or inform us of any action taken to rectify the problems faced by the residents of the CHDM.

In our PAIA application, we are requesting copies of all pre-directives, directives and compliance notices that were issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to the CHDM between 2016 and 2020 for non-compliance with legislation regarding its water and sanitation competency.

This information could be of critical importance in any possible forthcoming legal action against the Department or the Municipality.

I have compiled a dossier, which includes all my correspondence to the Minister, and have referred the matter to the South African Human Rights Commission for further investigation. Documentation received through the PAIA application will also be sent to the SAHRC.

The DA will not stand idly by while the lives of our people are being endangered by an uncaring ANC government. The Water and Sanitation Competency must be removed from Chris Hani District Municipality.

Regards

Retief Odendaal MPL
EC Midlands Constituency Leader

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