The SAHRC is currently receiving public submissions from communities in the province on the ongoing water crisis.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
Gauteng's major metro municipalities and other local municipalities across the province have regressed in their financial standing and procurement for water-related services.
This comes as the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), which is currently holding public hearings as part of its inquiry into the water challenges faced by communities in the province, received submissions from civil society organisations gathered at Constitution Hill on Tuesday.
According to a damning report from the Auditor General of South Africa's (AGSA) office, these municipalities have become serial offenders when it comes to their audit outcomes. Andries Sekgetho, a representative from the AGSA's office, delivered an alarming assessment saying: "The performance of Gauteng municipalities has not been good in the last three years. No municipality managed to achieve a consistent clean audit, with significant metros like Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni now being qualified in terms of their findings."
The SAHRC inquiry follows numerous complaints concerning persistent and widespread water shortages, recurring service delivery disruptions, ageing infrastructure, governance failures, and the deteriorating reliability of water supply systems across the province.
Sekgetho indicated that the implications of these findings are dire as irregularities and material shortcomings continue to plague municipalities' water management systems, with Emfuleni, situated in Merafong, having been highlighted for consistently unreliable measurements of water losses alongside material qualifications that deem their financial statements unreliable.
The SAHRC on Tuesday started public hearings over the water challenges that have affected various communities across Gauteng.
Image: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
Sekgetho elaborated on the persistent weaknesses in managing infrastructure projects across the municipalities, including the City of Joburg, Ekurhuleni, Mogale, Merafong, Tshwane, and Randwest, saying that these issues have been prevalent over the past three years.
"Commissioners, the performance of Gauteng municipalities has not been good in the last three years. As you can see, no other municipality was able to get a consistent clean audit, with some of them regressing, including significant metros, such as the City of Joburg and Ekurhuleni, which are now qualified in terms of their findings," he stated.
Earlier on, David-Hutch Barr, a spokesperson for the Primrose Ratepayers Association, cited political interference, corruption within water tanker services, and a series of systematic failures as being at the centre of human rights violations that have resulted in disruptive water services.
Barr underscored the severe implications of these failures, warning that if not addressed, they could lead to significant human rights violations in the community.
"Elderly residents can spend weeks without receiving any water from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality," he stated during his submission. The situation he described is not unique to Germiston but extends across Edenvale, Vosloorus, and Springs, impacting schools and informal settlements alike.
Highlighting the urgency of the matter, Barr revealed the potential repercussions of the ongoing crisis, including job losses.
He addressed the commission, saying, "Without mentioning the name of the company, we know that this company stands to retrench more than 200 workers due to the water crisis. This is a grim reality that we see on the ground."
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za