Page 16 - Notes from LRC's Housing Conference

4. CASE STUDIES OF LITIGATED MATTERS
One of the great challenges facing many South Africans is the large-scale failure of governance at local and municipal levels. After 1994 much of the responsibility for basic service delivery was centred in the hands of municipalities, but a lack of financial resources, capacity, expertise, and corruption has bought service delivery in some municipal areas to a standstill. This problem is particularly prevalent in rural areas and small towns.1
4.1. Makhanda sanitation case
The applicants in the sanitation case are 10 residents of Makhanda who live next or near sewage spills. The sanitation case was launched in November 2019. This case was about service delivery and the right to municipal services that do not damage the private property of the inhabitants of the municipality. It addressed the public health concerns of those who are exposed to the raw sewerage and are vulnerable to health problems. It was also about creating a clean environment that does not harm the people that are exposed to the environment.
1 Legal Resources Centre, 2020. Litigating Land and Housing in South Africa.
Sewage spill in Makhanda
Illegal dump site in Makhanda
16
SUMMARY NOTES FROM THE HOUSING CONFERENCE