The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape is deeply concerned about the lack of cooperation given by local and provincial government institutions to investigations undertaken by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and ultimately, the evasion of accountability by departments and municipalities.
Last week, the DA met with a representative of the commission in Kimberley for feedback on numerous complaints submitted in relation to the infringement of certain rights. Complaints include an eight-year-old sewage spill in Keimoes, contamination of the Orange River in Upington, the loss of housing in Kimberley due to sewage, the debt-induced limitation to access to water in Postmasburg, and the deprivation of the right to water caused by the Kimberley water shutdowns, amongst others.
While we appreciate the work done by the commission, which reacts to our complaints and tries to keep cases active and keep us informed, it is obvious that government institutions do not take the SAHRC seriously. They withhold information, obstruct the finalization of investigations and turn a blind eye to the implementation of recommendations.
The resultant failure by the SAHRC to resolve a growing backlog of complaints has led to a mushrooming of similar issues springing up across the Northern Cape because there is no deterrent or fear of reprisal by perpetrator departments. This is because while the SAHRC has the authority to investigate human rights violations and make recommendations, its enforcement powers, along with its capacity and resourcing, are limited.
The DA will request the provincial legislature to facilitate a more regular and effective audience with the SAHRC, to better enable us to hold government institutions accountable for their lack of cooperation with the SAHRC. We will also request that Northern Cape representatives of the SAHRC are granted an audience with relevant parliamentary committees to brief them about increasingly serious water and sanitation related complaints in the province.
In protecting the Constitution, we must also protect and strengthen the accountability mechanisms contained within it, such as the SAHRC. The DA in the province is therefore in the process of investigating recommendations that could ultimately empower the SAHRC to achieve better results, which we will later take up at a national level.