Cape Town - The provincial Human Rights Commission (HRC) has released a detailed report on human rights violations in 20 communities in the province.
Commissioner Chris Nissen’s report, released exclusively to the Weekend Argus, paints a grim picture of dire living conditions and inaccessibility to water in several areas in remote areas in the province.
Advocate Lloyd Lotz, commission manager, led the investigations alongside Nissen.
The commission’s investigative tour criss-crossed the province between December 3 and 8.
The issues covered vary from illegal evictions on farms; pupils having to travel 25km to school; Muslims being forced to travel 129km for their funerals because a municipality didn’t recognise their religious practices, and a sharp increase in suicide among pre-teens.
Commissioner Chris Nissen speaks about his tour to 20 communities across the province, where he found varying human rights violations. VIDEO: Soyiso Maliti
“In our quest to highlight human rights violations in the province, we found some really sad situations,” Nissen said.
He said the commission found the use of the K-word was common on farms.
Nissen found the West Coast resettlement area of Wolverivier had spent last week without water and personally contacted mayor Patricia de Lille, resulting in the issue being swiftly addressed.
Wolverivier’s water supply was cut between December 4 and 8 because “Eskom cut the pump’s power due to non-payment”.
Three water tankers from the reticulation branch supplied water to the residents while the power supply was off.
* Voorberg prison in Porterville: the prison warders' children have to travel 25km to school as there is no accommodating high school nor transport provision in the area. The nearest school, Porterville High School’s language policy excludes the warders’ children who don’t speak the language, according to the HRC report. Nissen said the commission will return to complete its investigation early next year.
* Riversdale: the report found that the Riversdale graveyard needed to be maintained. There was a dire need for accessible housing for disabled people. The report also found that land owners in the area had blocked poorer communities from accessing the coastal areas.
* Mossel Bay: the main issue in the area, according to the report, is the high rate of youth suicides – 20 young children had commited suicide this year. The most recent case was of an 11-year-old who hung herself. The commission has brought in Professor Quinton Johnson of Nelson Mandela University, for research assistance relating to the issue.
* Knysna: on December 4 the commission began investigating reports on “unequal distribution” in the Knysna fire aftermath. The commission will set up a meeting with Dr Hildegaard Fast, who was tasked by MEC of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde to oversee projects in the wake of the fire that gutted many properties earlier this year.
* Klaarstroom: the commission found that the main issues are the poor quality of water and housing for the community of farm evictees in Klaarstroom. The commission said it will engage the municipality regarding the matter.
* Maatjiesfontein, Central Karoo District: the commission found that the majority of the population relies heavily on social grants.
* Prince Albert: the commission is investigating reports of homes being built on top of graveyards due to a lack of available land. Nissen said he will be approaching the Western Cape Education Department regarding the need for transport.
* Piketberg, Berg River: with the commission’s intervention, the Bergrivier Local Municipality has allocated a burial site for Muslims in Piketberg. Previously, the municipality had suggested that they buy their own land. Municipal manager Hanlie Linde said they had offered to sell 20 sites to Muslims, but Nissen said the commission wasn’t impressed. Piketberg Muslims had to travel 129km to Mowbray, Cape Town for burials. The agreement was reached early this month but no timelines were given, according to Nissen.
* Suurbraak: the commission held a meeting with the Suurbraak Civic Association and Interim Transformation Committee. The commission found unfair labour practices by a contractor working on the town hall upgrade. It also found that the community’s access to a major river had been limited by land owners. The commissioner will arrange a meeting between the Swellendam Local Municipality and the Suurbraak community leaders.
* Clanwilliam: the commission visited an abattoir’s workers who reside next to their work premises in appalling conditions – “no water or electricity". "The community uses the nearby bush as a toilet,” according to the report.
* Klawer: the commission spotted a “disturbing” sign at the police station which said “prisoner visiting hours… ” which Lotz said contravened the constitution. The commission discussed the issue with the police.
En route to the gruelling week-long tour, the commission met a group of activists marching from Cape Town to Beaufort West, via the N1, as part of the 16 Days campaign.
The two parties scheduled a meeting for a collaboration early next year.