PHUTI MOSOMANE
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday that providing basic services to households has been one of the most significant interventions to enhance the lives of all South Africans, in accordance with the Bill of Rights outlined in the Constitution.
Ramaphosa was delivering his Human Rights Day commemoration address at the De Aar West Sports Ground, De Aar, Northern Cape.
“Our Constitution says that everyone has the right to housing, health care, food, water, social security and education … The expanding provision of [these] basic services to households has been one of the most important interventions to improve the lives of all South Africans,” Ramaphosa said.
“The Constitution says that the state must take reasonable measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of each of these rights. The Bill of Rights also guarantees the right to property and says the state must work to ensure that citizens have equitable access to land. This property clause makes provision for land reform, restitution and security of tenure to redress the results of past racial discrimination.”
According to Statistics South Africa (StatsSA), access to water and sanitation, electricity, housing and other services like waste removal has increased steadily over the last three decades.
“Around two million indigent households receive free basic water, free basic electricity and free solid waste removal,” Ramaphosa added.
Yet, despite this progress, there are still many people who do not have access to all of these services, said Ramaphosa
He said many people continue to live in informal settlements without adequate housing, water or sanitation.
In some municipalities, the provision of these services is unreliable.
“There are times when water is not provided or is of poor quality, or where refuse is not collected. The failure to provide adequate services consistently is a human rights issue,” he said.
Ramaphosa said this is why the government is working to improve the functioning of local government, which carries the greatest responsibility for the provision of these services.
“Through changes to legislation and support programmes, we are working to improve the capacity of public representatives and officials and direct more resources towards maintaining and upgrading local infrastructure,” he added.
Government recently re-introduced what are known as the ‘Green Drop’ and ‘Blue Drop’ reports, which detail the state of water provision in municipalities throughout the country.
On the basis of these reports:” we are undertaking interventions to fix the problems.”
“There are also a number of water infrastructure projects underway to improve the security of supply of water to key areas across the country,” he said.
Another significant intervention against poverty, Ramaphosa said, is the provision of social grants, which are the main source of income for about a quarter of households.
“Just over 2.5 million people were receiving social grants in 1999. Today, over 18 million people are receiving these grants,” he said.
To relieve the pressure on poor households during COVID-19, government introduced the special R350 social relief grant.
“While this grant has been extended to the end of March 2024, work is underway to provide basic income support for the most vulnerable within the country’s fiscal constraints,” he said.
INSIDE POLITICS
