The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape has written to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to urgently intervene in Soul City informal settlement in Aliwal North and the town of Herschel where the human rights of residents are being violated. Click here to read the letter.
The residents of Soul City in the Walter Sisulu Local Municipality have been living in inhumane conditions for the past two decades.
Yesterday, Tuesday 5 February 2019, I was joined by Annette Steyn, EC Premier Campaign Spokesperson for Agriculture and Land Reform, in doing an oversight inspection at Soul City.
Most of the shacks were built 21 years ago, and although electricity and water is provided, there are regular outages.
During our visit we were informed that the residents have been without water for 24 hours.
The filthy condition of the communal bucket toilets, which are almost never cleaned by the Walter Sisulu Municipality, pose a huge health risk. The situation is so bad that locals complain of regularly suffering from infections after visiting the toilets.
Safety is also a big issue as the community has no streetlights.
From there we proceeded to the community of Herschel in the Senqu Local Municipality.
Although the residents of this community have water infrastructure, they sometimes go without water for four months. What raises even more concern is that when the water is eventually switched on, the taps run dry after only a couple of days.
In one area in Hershel the sewage pipe and the pipe providing drinking water were crossed over and this leads to the residents now drinking sewage water. Residents have been complaining to the Senqu Municipality over the last 5 years, but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
When the taps run dry people have to walk at least 5 kms to fetch water from a local stream. Drought is crippling the area and life-giving local streams are quickly drying up.
The DA will not allow these people to live in these inhumane conditions and will be taking up their plight in the Eastern Cape Legislature and National Parliament.
The issues experienced in Soul City and Herschel are clear indications that the failing ANC government does not care about the health and safety of residents. The Bill of Rights states that every South African has the right to a safe and healthy environment. The residents of Soul City and Herschel have been robbed of their dignity.
They deserve a better government that will bring change by prioritizing the delivery of quality water and sanitation as well as public health services.
Only a DA government can build One South Africa for All by speeding up basic service delivery and managing the honest and efficient delivery of adequate housing, water, electricity and sanitation.