The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has issued a scathing rebuke of the Makana Municipality’s leadership, lambasting the Municipal Manager and the Mayor for showing blatant disrespect by ignoring the commission’s recommendations on the escalating water and sanitation crisis.
The condemnation came during a progress hearing where the municipality was meant to detail its efforts to address residents’ complaints of going without reliable water access for weeks and even months.
The municipality’s defense centered on a severe lack of funding. Officials maintained that the water challenges plaguing Makhanda and Alicedale are due to aged and failing infrastructure, requiring hundreds of millions of rands to fix—funds they say are unavailable due to critically poor revenue collection.
This justification was met with little sympathy from the commission, which has now forcefully proposed the dissolution of the Makana Municipal Council for its persistent failure to execute its basic service delivery mandates.
Mayor Yandiswa Vara, however, pushed back strongly against the proposal, arguing that the systemic issues are beyond the control of any individual leadership. “The problem is not with the human resource that is there,” the Mayor stated. “The problem is… issues that are not in control of anyone but need resources.” she contended that dissolving the council would be a futile exercise, predicting a cycle where new councils would face the same crippling financial constraints and be dissolved every few months.
Contradicting the municipality’s claims of financial hardship, the provincial Department of Water and Sanitation attributed the crisis directly to “negligence and a lack of operation, servicing, and maintenance.” A department official cited specific incidents, including water pumps that had flooded due to a lack of oversight. “The plant has been flooded because of negligence. Someone is not there,” the official said, while also acknowledging that some natural disasters had played a role.
The SAHRC expressed profound disappointment, reporting there had been “little to no improvement” since their last engagement with the municipality in September of the previous year. A commissioner directly challenged the leadership, questioning their very purpose. “What are you doing in that municipality? Is there reason for you to continue existing?” the official asked, highlighting that the municipality’s report seemed to rely entirely on external support rather than its own initiatives.
As a final directive, the Commission has given the Mayor and Municipal Manager a 14-day ultimatum to resubmit a comprehensive and detailed report outlining all actions taken to resolve the crisis since September. The implication is clear: failure to provide a satisfactory account and a credible plan of action will make the dissolution of the council a likely next step.
