Provincial Manager, Osmond Mngomezulu, confirms a number of investigations by the commission involves municipalities and how the rights to have access to water are infringed. He says they receive hundreds of complaints relating to infringement of rights to education, privacy, equality, and other human rights, but the lack of access to water in the North West has proved to be a great concern. In an interview with OFM News, Mngomezulu highlights how they have escalated their engagements to the local government MEC as well as South African Local Government Association (SALGA) over municipalities’ failure to provide services to residents.

“There is a collapse of local government in the North West. We have also read the report of the MEC for Cogta tabled before the NCOP. It highlights that there is a collapse of local government. Some of the municipalities have been placed under administration in terms of Section 139 of the Constitution, but we are not seeing any improvement in terms of those municipalities,” said Mngomezulu.

He alludes they are hopeful their engagement with the two bodies overseeing municipalities will yield positive results. Mngomezulu says there is a high need to enhance the capacity of municipalities in order for them to be able to deliver services.

“We have already seen that taking them to court does not yield immediate results for the communities”.

OFM News