A court has declined to grant a ‘blanket order’ that all directives issued by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) are automatically binding.

Acting Judge Denise Greyling-Coetzer, sitting in the Mpumalanga High Court (Mbombela), has ruled that the commission must approach a court and obtain relief from a judge for its directives to be legally enforceable.

GroundUp reports that the HRC sought the declaratory order after Agro Data CC apparently ignored directives it made concerning a local community’s access to a borehole.

The commission received complaints from people occupying the De Doorn Hock Farm that the owner had introduced restrictions on their use of the borehole and was threatening to impound their cattle.

Following an investigation, the commission deemed this to be a violation of the occupiers’ human rights.

Further, it found that Agro-Data had also violated the occupiers’ right not to be denied or deprived of access to water, as contemplated in the Extension of Security of Tenure Act.

Agro-Data was directed to restore the supply of borehole waters to the occupiers within seven days and to initiate negotiations to resolve the issue of water management at the farm to ensure an equitable share of the ‘scarce resource’.

Ground Up report