Judgment No. SC 54/2018 Case No. SC 228/14 (a) safe, clean and potable water; and (b) sufficient food; and the State must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.” Mr Girach submits that s 77 must be read with s 86 of the Constitution. He argues that no right is absolute and that every right must be exercised reasonably and with due regard to the rights of others. Rights come with responsibilities and obligations and there can be no right to water without paying for the cost of supplying it. In any event, the impugned Bye-laws are necessary for planned urban administration and are also fair and reasonable in a democratic society. Mr Mpofu counters that s 77 of the Constitution obligates the appellant to provide clean and potable water. To the extent that the Bye-laws allow the appellant to act arbitrarily, they must be regarded as impeding the progressive realisation of the constitutional right to water. The first point to note about s 77 of the Constitution is that it is a fundamental human right enshrined in Part 2 of the Declaration of Rights. As such, it is directly enforceable in terms of s 85 of the Constitution if it has been, is being or is likely to be infringed. Nevertheless, being in the nature of a social right, I do not think that it is susceptible to unqualified application and enforcement. This emerges clearly from the wording of the section itself. What the State is enjoined to do is to take reasonable legislative and other measures to achieve the progressive realisation of the rights to sufficient food and potable water. Moreover, its obligations in this regard are confined to measures within the limits of the resources available to it. In light of the relatively inchoate and somewhat nebulous DISTRIBUTED BY VERITAS e-mail: veritas@mango.zw; website: www.veritaszim.net Veritas makes every effort to ensure the provision of reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied. 27