The violation of basic human rights by Free State municipalities is at the centre of the public presentation by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) at an event underway at the Tuscan Rose guesthouse and event venue in Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein.
The event, which started on Monday, 25 March, will end on Thursday.
The commission is presenting the findings of its investigations into apparent accounts of the gross violation of residents’ rights by various municipalities regarding a range of service delivery challenges.
These occurrences range from a lack of access to water and proper housing, exposure to raw sewage spillages, ongoing sewage treatment challenges and the non-collection of refuse, to the bad state of roads.
“Over the years, the commission has received and investigated service delivery complaints against various municipalities within the Free State. The commission has noted with serious concern that, although it had issued investigative reports against some municipalities in the past, these violations persist unrelentingly,” said Thonoko Modise, acting provincial manager of the SAHRC.
The lack of service delivery by municipalities is underlined with frequent protest actions across South Africa.
The dysfunctionality of Free State municipalities has reportedly seen 215 service delivery protests in previous years, between 1 April 2020 to 30 November 2023.
