[ad_1]
Tatisi Union for Democratic Change (UDC) parliamentary candidate Justin Junipa has strongly condemned the recent disconnection of water services to teachers’ residences by the Tatisi Constituency Water Company (WUC).
He said a letter from the Francistown Town Clerk to WUC General Manager North dated July 20, 2022 stated that the council would be responsible for the bills in the council staff quarters, which affected more than 50 officials, including about 18 teachers.
Junipa said that despite the city council’s promise to pay compensation and admitting responsibility for the incident, the teachers who were later transferred to the Tatisi constituency had their water cut off by the Women’s Congress, and some teachers have been without water for the third month because the city council did not fulfill its payment promise to the Women’s Congress.
He said the injustice of denying drinking water to teachers was not only a gross violation of basic human rights but also severely affected educators who were already facing frustrating and poor working conditions.
“Teachers are key to our country’s development and they should not be burdened any further by the lack of a basic necessity like water. Citizens of this country have long been burdened by exorbitant and unreasonable water charges levied by the WUC since the privatization of this basic resource,” Hunyepa said. He said the privatization of water has led to huge barriers to accessing this vital resource. He added that it is unacceptable to put the profit motive ahead of the well-being of the people, depriving many of their right to clean drinking water.
Hongyepa said the Botswana government must take full responsibility to ensure that all citizens have uninterrupted access to clean and safe water, adding that water should not be viewed as a commodity to be profited but as a public resource essential for life and dignity.
“Depriving citizens of their right to natural water is an inhumane and cruel treatment and a violation of fundamental human rights. We call on the government of Botswana to reconsider the privatization of water services and prioritize the rights and welfare of citizens. It is undoubtedly the government’s responsibility to protect and uphold this fundamental right of all citizens,” Hunyepa said.
He said these fundamental rights are enshrined in the Botswana Constitution, the United Nations 1948 Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the 2010 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 64/292 also stated that water and sanitation are fundamental human rights.
Botswana is a member of the United Nations. We further call for the immediate reconnection of water services to the affected teachers’ residences and for the Board to pay the outstanding balance promised to the WUC. We will not hesitate to escalate this matter to other international organizations which will not be shocked by this gross violation of human rights,” Hunyepa said.
[ad_2]
Source link
