South Africa will soon have answers to questions regarding the action being taken by government departments to address the water and sanitation delivery backlog.

“Access to Water and Sanitation is a universal right. The SAHRC [South African Human Rights Commission] as mandated by the Constitution to promote respect and protection for human rights, and monitor the observance of human rights in the country, has been investigating access to these rights by hosting provincial water and sanitation hearings across the country last year,” the SAHRC says.

The SAHRC will be launching its Water and Sanitation report, which stems from these provincial hearings conducted in rural and impoverished areas across the county’s nine provinces, on 11 March in Cape Town. The hearings tasked government departments to answer questions on the action being taken to address water and sanitation delivery backlogs, including problems with infrastructure.

The report will reveal the findings of these hearings. It will cross-cut a number of government departments and provide recommendations to these departments on improving the right to access water and sanitation.

The SAHRC has recently described the lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation in South Africa as a potential national crisis. According to Mail & Guardian, an SAHRC report found that 38% of South Africa’s municipalities are at a high risk of crisis in terms of the provision of water while 9% are already in crisis, putting their inhabitants at risk of contracting disease.