SAHRC set to respond to DA’s demands over KZN ‘human rights crisis’

The SAHRC says it has been liaising with the DA regarding these issues and/or its concerns.

File picture. Picture: Khethukuthula Xulu

Published Nov 22, 2022

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Durban – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says it has planned to meet with the DA next week to address questions around its role in responding to KZN floods and the water and sanitation crisis.

The DA in KwaZulu-Natal took the commission to task last month and picketed outside the SAHRC Durban offices to demand a response to what it has dubbed “the human rights crisis in the province”.

DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers led the picket and handed over a memorandum of demands to the SAHRC and demanded that the SAHRC provide feedback to the demands by Friday, November 18.

The memorandum came after the DA said it had made ongoing attempts to engage with the SAHRC and was snubbed.

“The demands include an action plan from the SAHRC regarding steps they are taking to investigate and protect flood victims living in halls and temporary shelters.”

Ten days have passed since the set and agreed deadline, and the SAHRC and the DA have told ‘The Mercury’ that a meeting was scheduled for Monday, November 28.

SAHRC senior legal officer Pavershree Padayachee said: “The commission has been liaising with the DA regarding these issues and/or their concerns. We have therefore scheduled a meeting with the DA for November 28 in order to engage further with them.”

THE MERCURY