The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Makhado has urged the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate the continuing water crisis in the Makhado Municipality.

This follows after residents of Makhado have been without a stable supply of water for nearly seven years, says the DA's caucus leader, Cllr Abraham du Plooy. “The DA also submitted a memorandum of demands to the municipality in October last year, but nothing has happened,” Cllr Du Plooy states.

He explains that the demands were based on the principle that the municipality must deliver basic services, such as water, proper sewerage infrastructure and roads, to the communities. “We have approached the Human Rights Commission to officially lay a charge in accordance with the Bill of Rights,” Du Plooy says.

The SAHRC's spokesperson, Mr Isaac Mangena, confirmed that the commission had received the complaint from the Democratic Alliance. “The matter has now been registered with us and is undergoing our internal screening process,” Mangena said. “We should be allocating an investigator as soon as we satisfy ourselves that it falls within the mandate of the SAHRC.”

However, the scarcity of tap water in Makhado continues to be a thorn in the flesh of the affected residents. “It's been two weeks now that we haven't had even a drop of water,” says an elderly resident, Ms Hannetjie Joubert of Erasmus Street. “Even the municipal water trucks are not bringing us any water. I feel frustrated with the whole thing.”

The Soutpansberg Chamber of Commerce argues that the lack of water is causing serious damage to the business sector. “Over the past few weeks, business was affected in more than one way by the lack of water supply,” says the Soutpansberg Chamber of Commerce's president, Lize Strauss. She adds that in the hospitality sector, guest houses and restaurants were affected most. “A new restaurant in town had to install three water tanks and the capital outlay was close to R 20 000,” she tells. “Fuel station clients could not make use of the rest rooms, because of no running water, and business was lost.”