Five civil society organisations have asked the South African Human Rights Commission to launch a national public inquiry into the rapidly expanding data centre sector. The coalition warns that unchecked developments strain water, electricity, and land resources while lacking a complete national regulatory framework.
Civil Society Coalition Demands National Inquiry into Data Centres
South Africa’s data centre sector is scaling up rapidly, drawing sharp scrutiny from civil society groups over its long-term demands on municipal utilities and public land.
The coalition argues that no single regulator or sphere of government holds a comprehensive overview of the sector’s cumulative footprint. According to the submission, South Africa currently hosts more than 60 data centres with a disclosed combined capacity of roughly 500MW, while planned hyperscale developments threaten to more than triple that output.
Water Consumption Projections and Equinix Proposals in Cape Town
Much of the environmental debate centres on resource consumption, particularly water usage required to cool server infrastructure. Applying this metric to Equinix’s proposed facilities in Cape Town—which feature a combined capacity of about 174MW—campaigners estimate a potential consumption exceeding 4.4 billion litres of water every year, equivalent to the usage of more than 18,000 South African households.
However, industry plans and alternative facility designs complicate those worst-case projections. Under a dry-cooling design, water demand would be largely restricted to domestic support functions like restrooms.
Furthermore, local alternatives demonstrate that closed-loop systems can operate without depleting fresh water resources.
Land Allocation and Socioeconomic Strakes in Urban Centres
Beyond utility consumption, the coalition’s submission highlights tensions over urban geography and land rights. Housing Assembly representative Kashiefa Achmat pointed to the historical displacement of working-class communities and warned that well-located urban land is increasingly allocated to digital infrastructure.
“The Housing Assembly has been fighting for decent housing for all for more than 15 years. That fight is about land: who gets the well-located land in this city, close to work, to schools, to transport.”
Kashiefa Achmat, Housing Assembly
Achmat added that working-class residents remain relegated to the urban periphery while municipal electricity and water queues persist in local neighbourhoods.
“Our people have been pushed to the outskirts since apartheid, and we are still waiting. Now that same well-located land is being handed to data centres, and the water and electricity our members queue for goes with it.”
Kashiefa Achmat, Housing Assembly
Proposed Regulatory Overhauls and Next Steps
The civil society coalition has asked the Human Rights Commission to enact four concrete measures to govern the sector responsibly. These recommendations include a participatory national inquiry into data centre developments, a binding national framework requiring mandatory public disclosure of water and electricity consumption, an accessible national register, and enforceable community-benefit obligations.
Open Secrets head of legal Ariella Scher emphasized the need for updated legislative protections as the technology sector scales up.
“We have therefore asked the SAHRC to consider the need to develop a framework law for data centres which recognises the risks they pose and responds appropriately, thereby safeguarding people over profit.”
Ariella Scher, Open Secrets
In addition to regulatory reform, the coalition urged the government to consider a temporary moratorium on approvals for new hyperscale facilities until independent oversight mechanisms are fully established.
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