The constitutional right of access to free water was infringed by Johannesburg Water through its installation of prepaid meters in Phiri, Soweto, according to a ruling made by the Johannesburg High Court last week. Judge Moroa Tsoka declared that the rights of Phiri residents had been violated and said the prepaid meters were ”illegal and unconstitutional”.
Forcibly installing prepayment water meters was ruled to be unconstitutional by the Johannesburg High Court, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Cals) said on Wednesday. Stuart Wilson, spokesperson for Cals, said the meters were found to infringe the constitutional rights of people to have access to sufficient water.