Emfuleni failing to ‘comply’
SAVE the Vaal (Save) has now applied to the High Court to join the Ministers of Finance, Water and Sanitation, Environmental Affairs, the Gauteng Premier and MEC of Finance and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to the structural interdict it obtained against the Emfuleni local municipality in February 2018.
“In this way, these entities will be made responsible with Emfuleni local municipality for the prevention of the pollution of the Vaal River, and will have to report back to the court and to Save on plans, implementation timelines, budgets and the monitoring thereof.”
Its interdict ordered the Emfuleni municipality and the municipal manager to stop pollution of the Vaal River from the council’s waste water system and to provide comprehensive plans, budgets and timelines to deal with the sewage pollution.
“Emfuleni has not complied with this order. Emfuleni’s plans did not provide the answers required in terms of the court order and pollution of the Vaal River is ongoing,” Save said.
It met with Gauteng Cogta and the special advisor to the Gauteng premier, after the premier announced partial administration of the Emfuleni local council.
“Despite commitments made at a meeting with Gauteng Cogta in July, Save has not seen the promised action from Cogta and communication from Emfuleni council and Gauteng province has dwindled to nothing.”
The army has been working at Sebokeng wastewater treatment plant, a major contributor to the pollution, since November 2018 but has been constrained by a lack of funding. It has been estimated that an amount of R1 billion is required to fix the system, it says.
“Many financial numbers have been bandied about but there appears to be little transparency as to actual amounts of funding, where it is going and who is monitoring expenditure.
“Visible sewage pollution from the Emfuleni wastewater treatment system has been ongoing, contaminating the Vaal River and the streets of Emfuleni. This also impacts on communities downstream of the Vaal Barrage and represents a serious health risk.”
Save says the Rietspruit plant is not fully operational and very little capacity is being used at the Leeukuil plant as a result of a breakdown in the pump stations system. “Wastewater is simply not reaching the Leeukuil plant for treatment and going straight into the Vaal River.
“Most pump stations are not operational. The performance of those that are working is inhibited by Eskom load shedding as these pump stations have no back-up power.
“The unacceptable sewage pollution of the Vaal River and indeed the abuse of Emfuleni citizens’ human right to a clean environment, will continue unless all levels of government implement properly resourced short, medium, and long-term plans,” says Save chairperson, Malcolm Plant.
The matter is set down for May 14. | Sheree Bega