THE DA has confirmed that its leader, John Steenhuisen, will lead a formal complaint at the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against Rand Water for its failure to resolve the water crisis in Gauteng.
This comes after the party through its provincial leader, Solly Msimanga, on Wednesday gave Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu 14 days to respond to a memorandum of demands after the party called for the immediate removal of the Rand Water CEO, Sipho Mosai, amid an ongoing water crisis.
Over the past few weeks, the province has been facing severe water supply challenges, with some areas reported to have been without water for weeks at a time.
Communities have also suffered water shortages due to the ongoing water shedding which, in turn, has crippled service delivery in affected communities.
According to a media statement, Steenhuisen will be joined by DA Gauteng premier candidate Solly Msimanga and DA Tshwane caucus leader Cilliers Brink, along with DA activists and public representatives.
As the country gears up for the Electoral Commission of SA’s first voter registration weekend, Steenhuisen will unveil some of the party’s polling around the Multi-Party Charter in Gauteng in the hope of drumming up support for the charter ahead of the elections.
This week, Msimanga indicated that should the minister fail to respond favourably to their demands the party would be forced to take the matter higher up.
“Failing to respond to what we ask in our memorandum, we will be asking for the intervention of the Human Rights Commission, we will be approaching the Constitutional Court because this is an infringement of the constitutional rights of the residents who find themselves sitting without water for a very long time, and we will also be writing to the president. These are some of the avenues at our disposal,” Msimanga said.
On Wednesday, Mchunu commended Rand Water on 120 years of service and for maintaining a stable financial profile.
The Star
siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za