Examining the right to have access to sufficient water in Sebokeng, South Africa

Abstract

Water is a fundamental human right and a constitutionally protected right in South Africa. Section 27 (1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Constitution), guarantees that everyone has the right to have access to sufficient water. Since the promulgation of the Constitution, the legislature has adopted progressive laws to give effect to the constitutional water rights. These include, among others, the Water Services Act 108 of 1997 and the National Water Act 36 of 1998. Nevertheless, despite these legislative interventions, the realisation of this right remains uneven across social groups in South Africa. Research indicates that this challenge is deeply rooted in South Africa's political legacy. Historically, water governance in the country has been characterised by structural inequality, stemming from apartheid-era spatial planning and discriminatory service provision that benefitted a select and privileged minority. Sebokeng, within the Emfuleni Local Municipality in Sedibeng District of Gauteng, exemplifies the enduring effects of these historical injustices. Predominantly low-income, the community is marked by high unemployment rates, persistent socioeconomic inequality, and severe infrastructural neglect, all of which continue to constrain access to sufficient water. This study critically examined the progressive realisation of the constitutional right to access sufficient water in Sebokeng, South Africa. The study situated this right within international and regional human rights commitments, and proceeds to: 1) provide a historical and theoretical account of South Africa's water governance framework; 2) identify and analyse a number of challenges in the realisation of the constitutional water right in Sebokeng and examine the regulatory and institutional barriers to the effective implementation; and 3) explore mechanisms to strengthen the existing legal and governance framework to progressively realise the right to have access to sufficient water in Sebokeng, South Africa.