The ministers of Water & Sanitation, Health, and Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs has been issued joint letters by the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER), asking them to intervene urgently to ensure the provision of clean drinking water to a number of towns in the North West Province.
According to the CER, three babies in the Bloemhof area (Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality), and at least 15 babies in the Biesiesvlei and Sannieshof areas (Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality) have died in recent months from dehydration linked to diarrhoea and vomiting. These deaths appear to have been caused by poor quality drinking water, most likely contaminated by sewage. Poor municipal performance In the Department of Water & Sanitation’s 2012 Blue Drop Report, the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati district municipality ranked 9th out of 11 positions in the province, and the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality was the worst performing district municipality in the province. The report contained the following warning: “The Department hereby issues a warning to all residents and visitors to the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality area not to consume the tap water without taking appropriate measures to improve the drinking water quality. This warning is applicable to the towns of Tswaing/DeLarey, Tswaing/Sannieshof, Dinokana+Lehurutse, Kraaipan, Madibogo, Madibogopan, Motswedi+ Gopane and Setlagole.” No attempts to mitigate risks The CER says that, despite this warning, there is no evidence that any meaningful attempts have been made by these municipalities to mitigate the risks posed by contaminated drinking water. Instead, as evidenced by the number infant deaths in recent months linked to contaminated water, it appears that water quality in these areas may have worsened.“This situation constitutes a clear violation of the constitutional rights of the residents of the affected areas to an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing, and to access to water. The failings of the municipalities also potentially constitute numerous violations of national legislation, including the National Water Act, the Water Services Act, the National Environmental Management Act, and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act,” the CER said in a statement.
Requests to ministers Lawyers for human rights and the CER have asked the ministers to exercise their powers under the constitution to intervene to ensure the provision of safe drinking water to residents of Biesiesvlei, Sannieshof and Bloemhof. They have further requested an investigation into the deaths of children reportedly caused by water contamination in the Sannieshof area. This investigation should include a pathological diagnosis of the exact cause of the deaths. The CER has called on the department to share monitoring results of surface and groundwater undertaken by the DWS over the past 6 months in these areas, and in any event also to commission independent water quality monitoring in the area. The lawyers have also asked that the Departments of Water & Sanitation and Health advise them on what programmes are implementing to ensure both provision of safe drinking water and mitigation of health risks posed by poor drinking water quality to residents of Sannieshof and Bloemhof. Finally, the Minister of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs has been requested to oversee liaison between the two departments, and generally to oversee the administration of the Ngaka Modiri Molema District municipality, which is was placed in administration in July 2014.
