Rand Water loses appeal on provision of piped water to Blyvooruitzicht village
The Constitutional Court dismissed an appeal, brought by Gauteng water utility Rand Water, against an order of the Pretoria High Court preventing the disconnection of the piped water supply to the Blyvooruitzicht mining village, a distressed mining community of about 6 000 people located west of Johannesburg.
Nonprofit Lawyers for Human Rights on Friday welcomed the Constitutional Court’s decision, handed down three weeks ago, noting that the order also set out requirements for engagement with the Blyvooruitzicht community by relevant stakeholders, including the Merafong municipality and Rand Water.
“Access to water is fundamental in our lives. As a human being, you cannot live without water and the Constitutional Court has restored our hope and our sense of dignity,” said community resident Pule Molefe.
The order ends the multiyear struggle by the community, represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, to retain access to water after the Blyvooruitzicht gold mine initiated liquidation proceedings in 2013.
The company’s sudden departure from the site meant that many of its environmental and socioeconomic closure obligations went unfulfilled. As a result, the community’s access to basic services – previously provided by the mine – was threatened.
“This outcome represents an important step in recognising the right of mine-hosting communities to survival, even after the closure of major mining operations in their area,” said Lawyers for Human Rights environmental rights programme head Michael Clements.
“We will work to ensure that this creates the impetus for local government, and other stakeholders, to undertake the urgent efforts necessary to secure the future of this community.”
This case also reflects a broader, more systemic problem regarding the sustainability of mine hosting communities in the aftermath of mine closure, he added.
“Given the proliferation of mines reaching the end of their economic lives today in South Africa, the experience of the Blyvooruitzicht residents must serve as a warning to government and industry of the importance of planning for proper mine closure, from a socioeconomic and environmental perspective,” he concluded.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation