South Africa: People Want Water, Not 'Commitments'
13 April 2012
Democratic Alliance - 12 April 20120
Today's protests against poor water service delivery in Petrusburg's Bolokanang Township show that local municipalities are not succeeding in the realisation of progressive constitutional rights.
The failure of ANC governments - at all three levels - to ensure that people have access to clean drinking water is a ticking time bomb. People have had enough of excuses from politicians who sit in air-conditioned offices and drink Valpré mineral water. They want action.
Protests broke out in Bolokanang in December last year for the same reasons. The MEC of cooperative governance for the Free State, Mamiki Qabathe, famously responded to these protests by saying that 'the ANC does not make promises because they can be broken, but we make commitments, like in Ficksburg where we have made commitments and are still working on achieving them'.
Andries Tatane was shot and killed in protests last year in Ficksburg. A DA visit to the area earlier this month revealed that conditions have not improved since Tatane's death.
Category: Water