The CGE Undertakes Urgent Site Visit to Eastern Cape, To Probe A Persistent Water Crisis
“These disruptions pose a direct threat to life, dignity, and the effective delivery of essential health services”.
The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE), in line with its constitutional and legislative mandate, is today (6 May) conducting an urgent, unannounced oversight visit in the Eastern Cape where they will go to a hospital, a municipality and a university.
The visit to the hospital, the relevant municipality and a nearby university, follows escalating concerns about persistent water supply failures in the area.
The Commission is deeply concerned by widespread reports that ongoing water interruptions are severely compromising critical healthcare services, including the neonatal unit, maternity ward, and operating theatres, the Commission said in a statement.
“These disruptions pose a direct threat to life, dignity, and the effective delivery of essential health services”.
The visit will examine the full extent of the crisis, including its impact on patients, healthcare workers, surrounding communities, and university students who are also affected by the unreliable water supply.
The Commission will assess the adequacy and functionality of emergency measures, including boreholes and other contingency systems, and will verify allegations that patients and/or their families may be required to fetch water themselves.
Crucially, the Commission will engage the municipality on its constitutional responsibility to ensure uninterrupted water provision to both the healthcare facility and the broader community.
Continued failure to provide reliable access to water not only undermines public health but also disproportionately affects women and other vulnerable groups, raising serious gender equality concerns.
This visit forms part of the Commission’s mandate to monitor, investigate, and respond to systemic service delivery failures that threaten the rights, safety, and dignity of communities.
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