The Human Rights Commission says the state is still falling far short of meeting its human rights obligations to protect, promote and fulfill the enjoyment of the right to healthcare for the majority of Gauteng citizens. In its 2018/19 report on the State of Human Rights in Gauteng, which was released online on Friday, the commission says inequalities have continued to persist in spatial planning policies through the provision of RDP houses.

It also says the RDP application process is riddled with corruption and massive backlogs dating back to 25 years ago.

The report entitled, “leaving no one behind,” says the majority of marginalised communities who live on the periphery of South Africa’s smallest and urbanized provinces continue to be left behind. It accuses the state of perpetuating spatial planning by constructing new RDP houses far away from economic opportunities.

The report further highlights that the right to adequate standard of living, with regards to health, housing, water and sanitation; is relatively better compared to rural provinces.

However, there are systemic challenges that need a concerted effort from the national and provincial governments, in order to tackle the structural inequalities, poverty and unemployment.

Below is the full report on the state of human rights in Gauteng.