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Right to Water - South Africa

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Johannesburg residents

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UN Special Rapporteur on Housing, Miloon Kothari, visting the Phiri community in South Africa
Right to Water - South Africa
Johannesburg, 1 May 2008



South African Court issues landmark ruling against pre-paid water meters in Johannesburg township, requires provision of 50 litres of water free per person per day

The High Court of South Africa has ruled that the City of Johannesburg’s forced prepayment water meters scheme in Phiri, a township in Soweto, is unconstitutional. This judgement, in which the Geneva-based Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) provided a third party submission (amicus curiae), also reaffirmed the principle of progressive realisation and increases the minimal amount of safe drinking water that the City is obligated to provide.

Bret Thiele, Coordinator of COHRE’s Litigation Programme, said, “This ruling marks a key turning point in the struggle of South Africa’s historically marginalised groups for their right to water. For the first time, a court has affirmed their right to sufficient water for their basic daily requirements.”

In Mazibuko v. City of Johannesburg, the Court ruled that the City of Johannesburg’s practice of forced installation of pre-paid water meters in Phiri, Soweto, is unconstitutional. The City was directed to provide residents of Phiri with the option of a normal metered water supply. The judgment held that Johannesburg’s water policy was discriminatory. While people in low-income historically black townships are required to pay for water in advance, those in wealthy historically white suburbs are entitled to water on credit, and to negotiate payment with the City when they delay payment of their bills.

Ashfaq Khalfan, Coordinator of COHRE’s Right to Water Programme, said, “This decision will be an immense boost to poor communities in South Africa and elsewhere. It is a warning shot against attempts to forcibly impose pre-paid water systems on the poor elsewhere in Africa and globally.”

The Court also ordered the City to provide residents of Phiri with 50 litres of free water per person per day. This is an increase from the current allocation whereby each household (on average containing 16 persons) is only provided with 200 litres per day. The court noted that 25 litres per person is insufficient, especially for people suffering from HIV/AIDS. The Court noted that the City had the available water and financial resources to provide 50 litres per person per day, including through funds provided by the national government for water provision that the City had chosen thus far not to use for the benefit of the poor.

The judgment not only incorporates both a heightened awareness of the social and economic context of poor communities in South Africa, but also incorporates the best of South African jurisprudence, international law and comparative jurisprudence. It creates a useful precedent for litigation globally.

The judgement has been appealed by the City of Johannesburg, and COHRE has now intervened before the Constitutional Court. The work to promote the right to water in Johannesburg and elsewhere in South Africa must continue, through the courts and through the mobilisation of residents in townships such as Soweto and broader civil society, in order to ensure that this success is entrenched and the desired real changes on the ground are realised.

COHRE wishes to recognise the important assistance provided in its intervention before the High Court by the New York University School of Law's International Human Rights Clinic and the Legal Resource Centre of South Africa.

 
Page Contents
"Water Services Fault Lines: An Assessment of South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Provision across 15 Municipalities"
Submissions of applicants and respondents
Mazibuko v. City of Johannesburg (Phiri right to water case)


COHRE amicus curiae brief and list of authorities to the Constitutional Court of South Africa: Right to Water

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Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa's judgment in the case of Mazibuko v. City of Johannesburg

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COHRE amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of Appeals: Right to Water

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COHRE list of authorities in support of amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court of Appeals: Right to Water

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High Court of South Africa's judgment in the case of Mazibuko v. City of Johannesburg

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Download a summary and analysis of the Mazibuko High Court judgment

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COHRE amicus curiae Brief to the High Court: Right to Water

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COHRE list of authorities in support of amicus curiae brief to the High Court: Right to Water

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Water Services Fault Lines: An Assessment of South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Provision across 15 Municipalities
Water Services Fault Lines: An Assessment of South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Provision across 15 Municipalities - full report
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Water Services Fault Lines: An Assessment of South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Provision across 15 Municipalities - executive summary
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"Water Services Fault Lines: An Assessment of South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Provision across 15 Municipalities"

 

On 26 November 2008, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE) and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) released the report, Water Services Fault Lines: An Assessment of South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Provision across 15 Municipalities. The report identifies key fault lines in water and sanitation policy and implementation, including wide variance among municipal policies, many of which were inconsistent with national guidelines from the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF).

South Africa has one of the most progressive legislative and policy frameworks for water services in the world. However, when it comes to implementation at the local government level, where actual water services provision is located, the reality is quite different.

In interviews conducted between November 2007 and July 2008, many municipalities cited a fundamental lack of capacity, both financial and technical, as a major problem. Having devolved the responsibility for water services delivery to local government in 2000, national government has steadily decreased financial and technical support. This means that municipalities have to do more with less money. At current rates of implementation, the DWAF acknowledges that backlogs in water will only be eliminated in 2011 and sanitation in 2031.



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Response to Mayor of Johannesburg
Article in 'Business Day' by Sandra Liebenberg, Professor of Human Rights Law at the University of Stellebosch and member of COHRE's board. This article responds to the critique of the Mazibuko judgement by the Mayor of Johannesberg.


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Submissions of applicants and respondents

Related Links

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