Intervention in Vaal crisis will take a year

The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) is preparing to deploy technical teams to restore infrastructure at the polluted Vaal River system and has warned criminals that troops will protect its equipment.

Initial assessments have been done and members of the army are expected to visit the area again on November 18.

This comes after the announcement by finance minister Tito Mboweni during his medium-term budget policy statement in October that the military had been called on to assist with engineering and other expertise to resolve the crisis in the Vaal River system.

Raw sewage has been flowing into the river from pump stations in the Emfuleni municipality on the northern bank of the river‚ posing environmental and health risks. Communities affected include Vereeniging‚ Sebokeng‚ Boipatong and Sharpeville.

Maj-Gen TT Xundu said a conceptual assessment was done at the Vaal River a week after the announcement by Mboweni. “We found that the plants and substations are dysfunctional and not working. There are leakages and pipes that are burst‚ and all those things are threatening the welfare of the people‚” Xundu said.

He said following the conceptual assessment‚ a technical assessment was conducted with the municipality. “We are going to look at our limited engineering capabilities and see what we can do to assist‚ in particular the substations and the plants.”

Xundu said the project was expected to take a year.

“We are availing ourselves to co-operate with all the stakeholders that are there‚” he said.

Xundu said the army would not allow its work to be impeded by thieves.

“All of that area will be declared a military zone‚ so that the military can move in and secure the area‚ and make sure that the equipment that is going to be used there is not going to be stolen or vandalised.”