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Villagers in the Mnquma municipality have won a major court battle after the Mthatha High Court ruled that Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane and water and sanitation minister Pemmy Majodina failed in their constitutional duty to intervene in the area’s water crisis.
Acting judge president Zamani Mzwasi Nhlangulela ruled on May 15 that the minister and premier both failed to act against persistent failures by the Amathole District Municipality to provide residents in Ward 28, near Centane, with access to basic water services.
The judgment followed an application first brought before court in 2021 by three residents from the Nombanjana and Nxaxo villages, who cited the minister, Mabuyane, Amathole District Municipality, the minister of co-operative governance and traditional affairs and Amatola Water Board.
Residents have complained for years about severe water shortages, saying many people were forced to collect water from rivers where livestock also drank and bathed.
In his ruling, Nhlangulela ordered the minister to establish a task team involving all respondents to develop a long-term, sustainable plan to ensure residents of Ward 28 had access to water and basic water supply services.
Court papers also revealed that only 13% of households in the municipality had piped water between 2017 and 2022, according to Amathole District Municipality’s Water Services Development Plan.
One of the applicants, Harvey Ntshoko, said that despite the judgment, residents remained sceptical that conditions would improve.
There are people who wash clothes in the river where people get their water, even goats and pigs drink and swim there
Ntshoko said communities had exhausted most avenues before turning to the courts.
“If people had no water tanks that they could rely on, the situation would be very different,” Ntshoko said.
“There are people who wash clothes in the river where people get their water, even goats and pigs drink and swim there.
“Some can travel five to 10km to the river for water.”
He also criticised Mabuyane, accusing him of ignoring residents’ concerns during a previous visit to the area.
“The premier can’t let people go hungry and die from starvation while he is busy being happy,” Ntshoko said.
“He was here about three years back for an ANC women’s rally and he said there was water here, and he left without having let people say their part.”
Ntshoko said poor road conditions had also prevented some residents from attending the event.
The premier indicated in his affidavit that additional emergency measures, including the drilling and erection of boreholes in Ward 28, were undertaken as part of attempts to alleviate water scarcity in affected communities
The premier’s spokesperson, Sonwabo Mbananga, said the provincial government had acknowledged the seriousness of water challenges in parts of the Amathole District Municipality, including Ward 28 in Mnquma.
“The premier indicated in his affidavit that additional emergency measures, including the drilling and erection of boreholes in Ward 28, were undertaken as part of attempts to alleviate water scarcity in affected communities,” Mbananga said.
“While these interventions did not fully resolve the longstanding crisis, they formed part of ongoing efforts by different spheres of government to respond to the situation.”
Mbananga said the provincial government had also placed the municipality under administration in an effort to stabilise operations and improve service delivery.
“The province does not directly administer municipal water services but exercises oversight, monitoring and support functions in terms of the constitution and applicable legislation,” he said.
Amathole District Municipality spokesperson Sisa Msiwa denied that Ward 28 had been entirely without water, saying reduced borehole yields had caused intermittent supply.
“The challenge has been one of constrained and intermittent supply caused by reduced borehole yields,” Msiwa said.
“Two of the boreholes serving the area had dropped to a point where they were no longer usable, and the yield from the main borehole was not sufficient to supply all areas.”
She said the municipality had introduced water rationing and installed two additional boreholes in the Nombanjana area.
It was also refurbishing boreholes and pump stations, repairing pipelines and using water tankers when pump failures occurred.
“The Centane Phase 4 water supply project currently under construction is expected to extend supply to Ward 28,” she said.
“ADM acknowledges the seriousness of the water supply challenges experienced in Ward 28 and remains committed to improving service delivery in the affected communities.”
Nombanjana community leader Vuyo Flente said a communal water tank installed in the village only functioned for about a year before it stopped working.
“Since that tank was built and it had one tap, water came out only for a year and never again,” Flente said.
“The lack of water impacts elderly people because it is hard for them to go to the river to get water.”
Daily Dispatch
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