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Today, civil rights organisation AfriForum was granted an urgent order against the Vhembe District Municipality by the North Gauteng High Court to force them to supply water to the residents of Louis Trichardt (Makhado).
The right to water is a basic human right. Under the Water Services Act each person is entitled to at least 25 litres of water a day and a person may not be without water for more than 7 days. The Louis Trichardt community has however been experiencing a water shortage for months on end and some areas have been without water for more than two months.
AfriForum welcomes the order as it brings essential relief to the Louis Trichardt community that has been under tremendous pressure for many months since the municipality failed to meet its constitutional responsibilities to the community.
Health centres, especially old age homes, have suffered most, as they couldn’t function optimally without running water.
‘This order forces the Vhembe Municipality to do their work. AfriForum will monitor the adherence to the timeframes set out in the order and keep up the pressure on the municipality,’ said Werner Human from Hurter Spies, AfriForum’s legal representatives.
‘The order sets a national precedent for supplying water and service delivery in general as the order commits the municipality to reporting progress from building infrastructure to making running water available to the Louis Trichardt community,’ Human added.
In terms of the order running water will be available periodically in December 2012.