The Right to THE RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION

Water & Sanitation

THE RIGHT TO WATER AND

SANITATION IS A FUNDAMENTAL
HUMAN RIGHT THAT IS PROVIDED
FOR IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS.

Chapter 2 of the Constitution of South

The Water Services Act Africa provides that:
provides that:
“Everyone has the right to have
• Everyone has a right
of access to basic access to sufficient food and
water supply and water.”
sanitation services;
In order to give effect to this right
• Every water services
institution must take Parliament has enacted the Water
steps to realise these Services Act 108 of 1997. The purpose
rights; of this Act is to provide for the right to
• Every municipality basic water supply and basic sanitation
must plan in its water
services.
services development
plan to realise these This Act recognises that the right of
rights.
access to basic water supply and to
basic sanitation services is necessary
to ensure sufficient water and an
environment that is not harmful to
health or wellbeing of people and
animals.

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SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Other regional treaties that enshrine the right to water and sanitation
include:

• The African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (1981)

• The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child
(1990)
• The Additional Protocol to the American Convention on
Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (Protocol of San Salvador) (1988) and
• The Arab Charter on Human Rights (2008)

Who is responsible for delivery of water

and sanitation services?
There is a duty on all spheres of government to ensure that water and sanitation
services are provided in a manner which is efficient, equitable and sustainable.

All spheres of government must strive to provide water supply and sanitary services
sufficient for subsistence and sustainable economic activity.

The role of government is that:

• National government must manage water resources through various water

boards;

• Municipalities are responsible for the delivery of water and sanitation services
and must draw up plans for delivery. These plans must take into account
effective delivery services to informal communities;

• Our law recognises that due to lack of resources government cannot provide
these services to everybody immediately. However, the government must
have a clear plan with timeframes and budgets to provide these services and
increase access;

• Government must do so without trade-offs of other basic rights.

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 THE RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION

Government must
provide the following
basic water and NO CONSUMER
sanitation services: CAN BE
WITHOUT
WATER FOR
1. A
 t least 6000 litres per 2. A
 toilet or ventilated pit MORE THAN 7
household per month latrine, which is safe, reliable, DAYS PER YEAR
environmentally sound, easy
to keep clean, provides privacy
and protection against the
weather, well ventilated, keeps
Within
200 metres
smells to a minimum and
At a flow prevents the entry
rate of not of a stand Safe for
less than 10 human of flies and other
litres per consumption disease-carrying
minute
pests.

At the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals in 2015, the United

Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, which announced the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs). South Africa has also committed itself to achieve the SDG’s within
set time frames.

Goal 6 of the SDGs deals with the right to water and sanitation services for
all to:

• Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and

sanitation for all;
• By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and
affordable drinking water for all;
• By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and
hygiene for all, and end open defecation, paying special attention to
the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.

The Department of Water and Sanitation is the custodian of South

Africa’s water resources. It is mandated to promote effective and efficient
water resources management to ensure sustainable economic and social
development. Information about the Department may be accessed
through its website on www.dwa.gov.za.

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SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

Free basic services

South Africa has a policy1 of free basic services (indigent policy)
including water, electricity and solid waste collection to ensure that:

• Every household should receive the first 6 000 litres of


water a month for free. Water that is used over and above this has to be
paid for. Water is charged at a rising tariff which means that the more
you use, the more it costs. Nationally 92,5% of households have access to
improved drinking water sources;2

• Different municipalities have different policies for the provision of free

water and sanitation. You may receive these services automatically or
you may have to register for the services.

Where to get help

• You have a right to free services and you have a right to know why
you are not receiving adequate services;
• You must tell your municipality, ward councillor or community
development worker if you are experiencing problems;
• The South African Human Rights Commission (The Commission/
SAHRC), other chapter 9 institutions and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) can also assist you to get the information you
need.

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 THE RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION

The rights in the Bill of Rights are

interrelated
THE RIGHTS IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS
Every right in our Constitution is equal ARE INTERRELATED, FOR EXAMPLE:
and rights are dependent on each
• The spread of preventable diseases
other. For example, without water it is
like diarrhoea and cholera;
difficult to learn at school and to get an
education.
• Children, especially girls, tend to
drop out of school if there are no
All human rights are intertwined and toilet facilities;
interdependent. The right to water
• There is an increase in the use of
and sanitation services is linked to the
hospitals and clinics;
rights to life, dignity, health, housing,
food, education, physical security, • People miss work and are not
gender equality, and the prohibition productive;
against discrimination. A lack of • Women are afraid to go to toilets at
access to water and sanitation has night for fear of their safety.
many negative impacts.

At least 26% (3.8 million) of households within formal areas have sanitation services
which do not meet the required standard due to the deterioration of infrastructure,
caused by lack of technical capacity to ensure effective operation, timeous maintenance,
refurbishment, and/or upgrading of pit toilets emptying services, and /or insufficient
water resources services.3

Civil society and non-governmental organisations play an important part in

monitoring the progressive realisation of the right to water and sanitation services.
The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of The Public Protector is an independent
South Africa (SERI) is one such organisation institution created in terms of Chapter
and can be contacted through their website 9 of the Constitution. It has a mandate
www.seri-sa.org.za to investigate government conduct,
failures and maladministration. For more
Complaints on difficulties to pay debts
information on the Public Protector you
may also be lodged with the National
can visit their website www.pprotect.org.
Credit Regulator at www.ncr.org.za.

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The role of the SAHRC

THE SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN

RIGHTS COMMISSION IS AN
INDEPENDENT BODY SET UP
BY THE CONSTITUTION TO
MONITOR, PROTECT AND
PROMOTE THE ATTAINMENT
OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN OUR
COUNTRY.

Violations to the right to access water and sanitation are unacceptably

high in South Africa, with most violations taking place in rural and informal
communities. The Commission receives many complaints about water and
sanitation. Between 2012 and 2016 the Commission accepted 1 363 complaints
about violations to the right to water and sanitation.4

Violations to the rights to access water and sanitation, lead not only to
violations of other basic rights, but also sometimes cause social protests by
communities frustrated by the lack of adequate services.

The courts have been clear that the people are entitled to have access to
water. Important judgments by the courts provide guidance to responsible
authorities about what their duty to provide access to quality water and
sanitation involves. The courts have recognised that the right to water and
sanitation for all in South Africa is vital for the country to end inequality;
poverty, to improve and protect other rights like the right to health and
education.5

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 THE RIGHT TO WATER AND SANITATION

In two early complaints to the Commission, communities in Makhaza, Khayelitsha

and Rammulotsi in the Free State complained about toilets in their communities.

The Commission’s investigation revealed people in these communities suffered a

number of violations to their basic rights. They were being forced to live in unhygienic
and unsafe conditions as they had to use unenclosed toilets, that were unclean and
against norms and standards for delivery of services. The Commission ordered both
municipalities to take immediate steps for the protection of the privacy, dignity,
right to a clean and safe environment and rights to access water and sanitation of
the communities.

The Commission also called on the Presidency’s Department of Planning, Monitoring

and Evaluation (DPME) to provide a report to the Commission on the right to
sanitation across the country. The DPME reported that there were continued and
widespread problems regarding “key water services weaknesses and challenges has
been attributed to a lack of adequate funding and poor revenue collection leading
to financial instability; a lack of technical, management and business skills; political
interference and corruption and unclear municipal powers and functions.”6

The Commission formally addressed its findings and recommendations with national
parliament after hearings conducted in all provinces about violations to the rights to
access water and sanitation. It continues to monitor and report on the right and to
respond to complaints brought to it by communities. More recently the Commission
approached the court for relief on behalf of a community in the North West Province.7
In this case, water was being provided by the Municipality but was insufficient for
their needs.8 ble on the website www.sahrc.org.za

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End notes
1
Free Basic Water Implementation Guideline for Local Authorities Version 2.3 available at http://
www.dwa.gov.za/Documents/FBW/FBWLocalAuthGuidelinesAug2002.pdf
2
GHS Series Volume VIII Water and Sanitation: In depth analysis of the GHS 2002 – 2015 and CS
2016 data
3
Report on the right to access to sufficient water and decent sanitation in SA 2014 (SAHRC)
4
SAHRC Annual Trends Analysis Report 2015/2016
5
Mazibuko and Others v City of Johannesburg and Others 2010 (3) BCLR 239 (CC) (08 October
2009)
6
SAHRC Moqhaka findings (2011)
7
SAHRC Section 184 (3) Report (2016/2017)
8
SAHRC v Madibeng Local Municipality NW/2014/0036

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Contact Details
PROVINCIAL OFFICES
Eastern Cape Gauteng Office
Address: 4th Floor Oxford house, 2nd Floor, Braampark Forum 3,
86 Oxford street, East London, 5200 33 Hoofd Street, Braamfontein
Tel: 043 722 7828/21/25 | Fax: 043 722 7830 Tel: 011 877 3750 | Fax 011 403 0668

Provincial Manager Provincial Manager

Mr Abongile Sipondo Mr Buang Jones
Contact: Yolokazi Mvovo Contact: Nthabiseng Kwaza
E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

Free State KwaZulu-Natal

18 Keller Street, Bloemfontein First Floor, 136 Margaret Mncadi, Durban
Tel: 051 447 1130 | Fax: 051 447 1128 Tel: 031 304 7323/4/5 | Fax: 031 304 7323

Provincial Manager Provincial Manager

Mr. Thabang Kheswa Ms Tanuja Munnoo
Contact: Alinah Khompeli Contact: Kathleen Boyce
E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

Limpopo Mpumalanga
First Floor, Office 102, Library Garden Square, 4th Floor Carltex Building,
Corner of Schoeman and 32 Bell Street, Nelspruit
Grobler Streets, Polokwane Tel: 013 752 8292 | Fax: 013 752 6890
Tel: 015 291 3500 | Fax: 015 291 3505
Provincial Manager
Provincial Manager Mr Eric Mokonyama
Mr Victor Mavhidula Contact:Carol Ngwenyama
Contact:Mahlatse Ngobeni E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]

Northern Cape North West

45 Mark and Scot Road, 25 Heystek Street, Rustenburg
Ancorley Building, Upington Tel: 014 592 0694 | Fax: 014 594 1069
Tel: 054 332 3993/4 | Fax: 054 332 7750
Provincial Manager
Provincial Manager Ms Mpho Boikanyo
Ms Chantelle Williams Contact: Poppy Mochadibane
Contact:Zukiswa Louw E-mail: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]

Western Cape
7th Floor ABSA building,
132 Adderley Street, Cape Town
Tel: 021 426 2277 | Fax: 021 426 2875

Provincial Manager
Adv Lloyd Lotz
Contact: Shafeeqah Salie
E-mail: [email protected]
SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

How to Contact the SAHRC

Forum 3, Braampark Office Park, Braamfontein
Johannesburg
Tel No: 011 877 3600
www.sahrc.org.za
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Twitter: @SAHRCommission
Facebook: SA Human Rights Commission

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