National disaster! Water issues halts Constitutional Court in-person hearings

Since the beginning of the month, the Constitutional Court has been unable to conduct in-person hearings due to an ongoing and unreliable water supply in Johannesburg. The court building is experiencing a lack of water, which has disrupted its operations.

Water leaks in the Court's water system were also detected, according to the office of the Chief Justice who said this also impacted water supply in the Court.

“A professional plumber deployed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, together with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has since addressed the water leaks,” it said.

Although the exact cause of the ongoing irregular water supply challenge is not yet known, the City of Johannesburg (CoJ) and Joburg Water are working to resolve the matter.

Leaks, power outages, and theft are the suspected causes of water outages.

Some pockets of Gauteng are still without water but the national government has also intervened to deal with the situation.

“Whilst the Court has a water tank installed for ablution facilities, this backup water supply lasts for only one working day, and the City of Johannesburg is unable to refill it promptly daily to allow Court operations to continue uninterrupted,” the office said in a statement.

Constitutional Court management is in regular contact with the City of Johannesburg and Rand Water, OCJ said.

Meanwhile, the DA said it was a national embarrassment that the ConCourt had to shut down over water cuts.

It blamed the city for its failure to supply water to its residents, businesses and public sector offices.

“The highest court in the land, responsible for the most seminal decisions, has been closed down by a failing, collapsing municipality.

The DA is concerned that this break in ordinary operations is an unnecessary inconvenience and hindrance to a Court handling our most serious matters - due to the City of Joburg's failures,” the DA said.

The party further called on the City of Johannesburg to restore services to the Constitutional Court without any further delay.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

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