‘Makana residents have been failed at every level’

Residents in the Makana municipality have been failed at every level, with a damning new report by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) declaring the area’s ongoing water and sanitation crisis a violation of fundamental constitutional rights.

After more than three years of investigations, complaints and testimony, the commission concluded that the collapse of basic services in Makhanda and surrounding areas was due to a deep-rooted breakdown in governance, accountability and infrastructure management.

The report, released in Makhanda on Wednesday, painted a bleak picture of daily life for residents, who have endured prolonged water outages, overflowing sewage, failing sanitation systems and environmental contamination.

SAHRC commissioner Dr Henk Boshoff asked: “Are we not witnessing the characteristics of a municipality that doesn’t care about its community and residents?”

Boshoff said residents in Makana were living lives of indignity.

In an extraordinary escalation, the SAHRC recommended that the Eastern Cape government consider dissolving the Makana municipal council under Section 139(1)(c) of the constitution — a last resort intervention reserved for severely dysfunctional municipalities.

It also called for a review on whether Makana should continue to manage its own water services, suggesting these responsibilities may need to be handed over to a more capable authority.

Makana manages Makhanda, Alicedale, Riebeeck East and several surrounding rural villages and farming communities.

The area has been plagued by service delivery issues for years.

The SAHRC found that the crisis in Makana was not primarily caused by a lack of available water resources.

“It is the result of governance failures, infrastructure deterioration, weak accountability and institutional instability.”

More than 30 formal complaints were lodged with the commission between 2023 and 2026, highlighting widespread disruptions affecting households, schools, healthcare facilities and businesses.

Vulnerable communities — including children, the elderly and residents of informal settlements — bore the brunt of the failures.

In some areas, the bucket toilet system — meant to have been eradicated decades ago — was still in use.

The commission found these conditions amounted to ongoing violations of constitutional rights, including access to sufficient water, human dignity, a safe environment and the protection of children.

Despite years of intervention from provincial and national government — including financial recovery plans, infrastructure funding, technical support and oversight — the situation had not improved.

“Ordinary support measures have failed,” the report states.

The findings are backed by evidence from multiple institutions, including the auditor-general, which issued a disclaimed audit opinion, pointing to massive financial mismanagement, irregular expenditure exceeding R300m, and a failure to account for public funds.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigating Unit is probing allegations of corruption, maladministration and irregular procurement linked to critical infrastructure projects.

The department of water and sanitation confirmed that adequate bulk water was available, further reinforcing the commission’s conclusion that the crisis stemmed from systemic failures — not scarcity.

Residents had also raised concerns about poor communication from the municipality and a lack of trust in its ability.

Rhodes University reported severe disruptions, with water outages affecting student health, academic operations and campus safety.

It said many students had opted to transfer to other institutions.

The commission said communities could not be expected to endure these conditions indefinitely.

“Human rights cannot wait,” it said.

Additional recommendations included:

• Urgent completion of Phase 3 of the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Works upgrade, which mainly services the townships;
• Continued enforcement action by the department of water and sanitation where there is persistent noncompliance;
• Consideration of criminal and enforcement mechanisms available under water legislation where appropriate; and
• Ongoing monitoring and enforcement by the department of employment and labour regarding unsafe municipal infrastructure facilities.

“The commission will continue monitoring implementation of the recommendations … and reserves all powers available to it under the constitution and the SAHRC Act should further intervention become necessary.”

Boshoff added: “We have done our part. Organs of state must now do their part. The residents of the Makana municipality deserve better.

“We cannot allow a situation where people still live lives of indignity.

“No effort should be spared to address the crisis … We cannot tolerate what we have observed in this municipality.” — The Herald