In light of the public health crisis that Namibia faces due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we call on the Namibian government to take all practical measures necessary to protect the population, above all by reconnecting the water supply to all households that have been disconnected in recent months.

We reiterate the call by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation for the Namibian government to guarantee access to water and sanitation, particularly to the most vulnerable.

'As human rights experts of the United Nations system, we take this occasion to appeal, once again, for the governments around the world to reinstate the policy of prohibiting water cuts, as well as other basic supplies and to guarantee a minimum essential amount of water and essential basic supplies to those who face difficulties to pay for those services and supplies."

The Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation have advised that all persons should maintain personal hygiene by regular hand-washing, but for a large number of people in Namibia this is practically impossible, because their water supply had been suspended by local authorities over unpaid (or unpayable) bills.

Water Cuts Violate the Bill of Rights

The Namibian Constitution stipulates that all citizens have the right to life.

Article 8 in the Bill of Rights further says the dignity of all citizens is inviolable, and no person may be subject to cruel and inhumane treatment or degrading forms of punishment or penalties by any organ of the state. The water cut-offs are in clear violation of these Constitutional protections. Article 6 says 'The right to life shall be respected and protected. The water cuts are in clear violation of the Bill of Rights.

Water Cuts Constitute a Form of Collective Punishment

The water cuts also amount to a form of collective punishment by endangering the lives of people in the community who have nothing to do with the principal debt. 

Article 87(3) of the 1949 Geneva Convention III says: “Collective punishment for individual acts and cruel punishment are forbidden.” Article 50 of the Hague Regulations of 1899 further stipulates that ‘no general penalty, pecuniary or otherwise, can be inflicted upon the population on account of the acts of individuals for which they cannot be regarded as jointly and severally responsible.’

The Rights of Children and the Disabled

it is clear to all who can see that water cuts present a major public health hazard that will have costly consequences for the country as a whole. In addition to the above statutes, water cuts are also in breach of several international conventions that form part of Namibian law, including the Convention of the Rights of Children and the Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons.

Above all, the water cuts make it impossible to break the chain of Covid19 transmission and may be a key factor in contributing to the rapid spread of the pandemic in recent weeks, thus contributing to the preventable loss of life, the collapse of the wider economy and the collapse of the public health system.

We, therefore, call on the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development to immediately end all household water cut-offs due to debt and to urgently reconnect the water supply of all households that have been cut off, as an essential preventative measure to combat the raging Covid-19 pandemic. 

On humanitarian grounds, we demand that local government officials open the taps and lift the suspension of household water supply to provide a minimum essential lifeline supply of free water in line with WHO recommendations to impoverished and needy households.

Water is life. Therefore, we call on government to uphold the Bill of Rights and to urgently restore the people's water supply now!