On March 30 2017, mayor Herman Mashaba announced the discontinuation of a lifeline supply of free basic water to everyone in the City of Joburg. By withdrawing free basic water services from those not registered as indigents, the city announced it would recover more than R320m, which it would use to improve service delivery to the poor. "The new administration is unapologetically pro-poor and this is an essential step to ensure that we protect the poorest residents in our city while ensuring that we increase revenue to speed up service delivery and improve infrastructure," Mashaba said. There was no call for public consultation and muted public response to the announcement, and on July 1 2017 the new policy came into effect. The right to sufficient water is a constitutional right. The state needs to take reasonable steps to progressively realise this right within its resources. Legislation and policy give effect to this right and define sufficient water supply as a basic minimum of ...
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