SAHRC Pushes DWS to Fix ‘Historical Exclusion’ at Hartbeespoort Dam

The South African Human Rights Commission has delivered a scathing finding against the Department of Water and Sanitation, ruling that it failed to correct decades-old racial and gender discrimination in land lease allocations around Hartbeespoort Dam. A complaint lodged by the Hartbeespoort Dam Development Initiative revealed that only two black applicants have been granted occupancy rights in the past 10 years. During its investigation, the DWS conceded that unfair discrimination persisted but blamed it on pre-1994 practices. Commissioner Tshepo Madlingozi says the department breached equality laws and ignored its own leasing protocols. Phemelo speaks to SAHRC North West Provincial Manager, Shirely Mlambo, about what the commission expects to happen next.