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President Ramaphosa demands accountability for 24 deaths due to waterborne disease

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President Cyril Ramaphosa has tasked Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu with providing recommendations to strengthen governance and management for municipal water and sanitation services.

The President has lamented municipalities for the decline in the quality of water and sanitation services.

Residents in Hammanskraal grapple with the cholera outbreak that has left 23 dead in the area. The Department of Health says the death toll from the outbreak stands at 24 including one in the Free State.

President Ramaphosa says there must be full accountability for the deaths of 24 people as a result of the waterborne disease.

Ramaphosa has also bemoaned the municipal council’s underspending of infrastructure grants provided by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).

He claims the City of Tshwane failed to act on directives issued by the Department of Water and Sanitation despite warnings of the poor quality of water in Hammanskraal.

In 2019, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) found that the water in the area was not fit for human consumption.

Four years later, the community is still plagued by the same challenge.

The Department of Health says it’s a race against time to find the source of the outbreak.

The video below is reporting more o the story:

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