The South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC’s) Gauteng office has launched an inquiry into the water crisis affecting the province.

The commission has identified prima facie concerns of systemic human rights violation and considers it appropriate, in the public interest, to conduct a formal investigative inquiry.

This comes after it received a significant number of complaints about persistent, widespread water shortages, infrastructure failures, governance challenges and recurring service delivery disruptions affecting communities across the province.

According to the terms of reference for the inquiry, Gauteng is experiencing a sustained and deepening water crisis characterised by persistent shortages, intermittent supply, infrastructure failures, ageing and poorly maintained systems, contamination risks, governance failures and inadequate emergency response mechanisms.

These challenges have become a recurring feature of municipal service delivery, particularly within the cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

“These [water] challenges have had a disproportionate impact on poor and marginalised communities, residents of informal settlements, schools, healthcare facilities and social care institutions, undermining [their] dignity, health, safety and access to basic services,” the SAHRC says.

The water crisis has also produced secondary systemic harms, including the emergence of informal and exploitative water distribution economies commonly referred to as ‘water tanker mafias’.

This is because prolonged and recurring water outages create dependence on unregulated private water tankers, entrenching inequality, profiteering and the commodification of a constitutional right.

“Access to sufficient, safe, acceptable and affordable water is a foundational human right and a cornerstone of human dignity. The right to water is constitutionally protected and the Constitution imposes positive obligations on the State to respect, protect, promote and fulfil this right,” the commission says.

The SAHRC will undertake the inquiry from May 19 to 21, investigating the challenges at a systemic level.

The inquiry aims to assess the extent, nature and root causes of water-access challenges across Gauteng as well as infrastructure failures; assess the impact of the water crisis on the enjoyment of fundamental human rights, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised communities; and determine whether the current situation constitutes a systemic human rights violation and whether any limitation of rights is justifiable.

It will also examine whether State actors have taken reasonable and adequate steps to progressively realise the right of access to sufficient water; assess governance, planning, budgeting, infrastructure management and emergency response systems; and examine the emergence and impact of informal water distribution economies and tanker dependency.

The SAHRC’s Gauteng provincial office seeks to work with organs of State, research institutions, academia, experts and the private sector to develop medium- to long-term systemic interventions that will strengthen accountability, improve governance, promote sustainable planning, smart financial management, effective delivery and maintenance and embed a culture of human rights in water governance, infrastructure development and maintenance and service delivery.

The ultimate aim is to contribute to durable solutions that ensure equitable, dignified, reliable and consistent access to water for all communities in Gauteng.

Based on its findings, the commission will make recommendations and issue directives aimed at addressing systemic failures and securing sustainable access to water.