DA gives ultimatum to SAHRC to act on floods

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has failed citizens of KwaZulu-Natal and chosen to protect the governing party.

This is according to KwaZulu-Natal DA leader Francois Rodgers, who led a picket to the SAHRC offices in Durban on Monday.

The protest was prompted by the crisis of April flood victims still living in community halls six months after the deluge, and the water and sanitation crisis in the province.

“Various promises were made by eThekwini metro and the department of human settlements, but six months later these people still live in dire conditions,” he said.

“The other issue is the collapse of the sanitation system and the health implications. We have engaged at provincial and municipal levels but we’re not getting the necessary response.”

The commission had failed to hold the provincial and national government to account, said Rodgers.

“The DA believes the commission has failed to intervene on behalf of KZN’s flood victims, thousands of whom are living under inhumane conditions in community halls six months later. The issue has now become a human rights crisis, yet the SAHRC is nowhere to be found.”

He had made numerous attempts to engage directly with the KZN SAHRC – from lodging a formal complaint in July and requesting a personal meeting – only for the commission to “disregard” those attempts.

“The questions that demand answers are: why is the SAHRC repeatedly snubbing the DA? And why is it not doing its job of holding this government to account?”

The issue of water and sanitation had been part of the SAHRC’s public hearings on August 18 and also raised in parliament's ad hoc committee on September 12, but no feedback had been received despite the commissioner promising it was giving it attention.

“The SAHRC is doing everything in its power not to work with and engage the DA on two such serious humanitarian issues [which] points to the capture of this organisation.

“The South African Human Rights Commission is a captured institution of the ANC. It’s not a chapter 9 institution of the constitution of our country but of the ANC.”

Among other things, the DA wants:

• an action plan on steps to investigate and protect flood victims living in halls or temporary shelters;
• measures to engage local, provincial and national government on infrastructure collapse and citizens’ rights to access human rights of healthcare, food, water and social security;
• what the SAHRC intends to do to mitigate these violations; and
• a public announcement outlining resolutions.

The DA said it would approach the public protector and consider taking the matter to the Constitutional Court if the commission failed to provide feedback by November 18.

SAHRC acting communications co-ordinator Wisani Baloyi said he was aware of the memorandum and would respond after studying it. – TimesLIVE