Press release: Solidarity with Water Stressed Communities – National Day of Action #WaterForAll
THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA, MR. CYRIL RAMAPHOSA
MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, WATER AND SANITATION, MS. LINDIWE SISULU
MINISTER OF CO-OPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS, D R. NKOSAZANA DLAMINI ZUMA
THE NATIONAL DISASTER WATER COMMAND CENTRE
THE NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT COMMAND STRUCTURE
HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, COMMISSIONER MOHAMED SHAFIE AMEERMIA
REGARDING: Solidarity with Water Stressed Communities – National Day of Action #WaterForAll
The importance of water cannot be emphasised enough. Beyond the central role that water plays in sustaining human life, the COVID-19 pandemic has further affirmed the role of water in maintaining health and wellness. Specifically, through its function in helping to curb the spread of the virus. Without water, the spread of the virus could be far greater. In a televised address on Saturday the 15th of August, the President of South Africa declared that although lockdown restrictions will be eased, this does not diminish the risk of infection nor should it mean that society lowers its guard.
However, many water-stressed communities do not have access to clean water and many live without running water through taps in their homes. This means that their water needs have to be met through polluted rivers, faraway standpipes or rapidly depleting boreholes. Women perform the care labour in this context risking their safety in many of these situations. Moreover, many communities only have intermittent water access due to local government mismanagement. Although the government has now handed the responsibility for managing the virus to its citizens, it has done this in a manner that sets them up for failure. Simply put, water needs of communities are not met, based on the constitutional and legal responsibility that the state has. Exercising individual responsibility is made impossible without water. Read more
