Johanensburg - The SA Human Rights Commission has subpoenaed the Moqhaka local municipality over its failure to enclose toilets in Rammulotsi in the Free State.
It would appear before a commission of inquiry on Thursday.
“Should the Moqhaka local municipality fail to appear before the inquiry, the commission intends to escalate this to the attention of the National Prosecuting Authority and the SA Police Service for further action,” commission spokesman Isaac Mangena said in a statement on Wednesday.
The commission has to find out why the municipality reneged on its obligations to enclose toilets, and why it failed to provide regular progress reports.
In September 2010, residents of the Rammulotsi township near Viljoenskroon lodged a complaint with the commission after the municipality installed unenclosed toilets in the area.
The commission subsequently made a finding against the municipality in May 2011 and found the toilets were a violation of residents' right to dignity.
Among the commission's recommendations was that the municipality enclose all the toilets as a matter of urgency, and furnish the commission with a progress report at least every six months.
The commission had been monitoring the implementation of the recommendations and was disappointed that the municipality had not adhered to it.
The last progress report was due at the end of January, Mangena said.
Sapa