AfriForum serves urgent court papers as Emfuleni’s sewage crisis continues
AfriForum is taking the fight against Emfuleni’s ongoing sewage pollution to the next level after urgent court papers were served on nine respondents, including the Emfuleni Local Municipality, Vaal Corporation Water Utility and the Department of Water and Sanitation.
The urgent application follows AfriForum’s formal demand in July in which the Municipality was granted time to take action to contain the sewage spills, repair and properly operate the affected infrastructure and provide an emergency action plan. The Municipality failed to respond within the set deadline. Instead, a letter purportedly dated 29 July was only received by AfriForum’s attorneys after the urgent court application had already been issued and served.
The Municipality’s response to the crisis contains significant admissions, including the acknowledgment that a prolonged shutdown of the sewerage pump stations had resulted in an overflow that the Municipality knew could pollute the environment. The Municipality’s letter to AfriForum further stated that several pump stations, including pump stations 8 and 10 in Drie Riviere, Vereeniging, were restarted on 21 July.
After receiving the Municipality’s response, a representative of AfriForum inspected pump station 8 and observed a strong stream of sewage still flowing from the manhole towards the stream. Photographic evidence has been obtained and will be placed before the court.
“The Municipality maintains that the problem is under control, while AfriForum’s own evidence shows that raw sewage is still flowing. A sewage crisis cannot be solved by wishful thinking when the reality is that sewage is still reaching our waterways,” says Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s Central Region Head.
“AfriForum gave the Municipality an opportunity to act and they failed to do so. This urgent application will not simply disappear based on the promises made on paper while the pollution continues on the ground.”
AfriForum’s urgent application also places the spotlight firmly on Vaal Corporation Water Utility, the special-purpose vehicle established to address the region’s water and sanitation crisis. AfriForum’s position is that this entity must now be held accountable for delivering on that mandate.
“It is deeply concerning that this new entity appears to have failed to make a meaningful intervention in stopping the ongoing sewage flows since it became operational. The community cannot be expected to watch a new institution being established, funded and given a specific mandate while raw sewage continues flowing into our water resources. If the Vaal Corporation Water Utility is unable do the job it was established to do, AfriForum will ask the court to compel it to fulfil its obligations,” says Grobbelaar.
AfriForum previously lodged three criminal complaints relating to the ongoing sewage crisis against, among others, the Municipality. The court proceedings are expected to resume on 1 September.
“The people of the Vaal Triangle are not second-class citizens who must simply accept dirty water, sewage pollution and collapsing infrastructure. We have the same constitutional rights as every other South African. We are tired of government institutions passing responsibility from one entity to another while the sewage keeps flowing. The Municipality says one thing, the water utility has its mandate, the Department has its responsibilities but meanwhile the Vaal River continues to pay the price.”
AfriForum will ask the court to urgently intervene and to compel the responsible entities to take meaningful steps to stop the pollution, prevent recurrence and properly maintain and operate the relevant wastewater infrastructure AfriForum is also calling on residents, property owners, businesses and everyone affected by the sewage pollution to support the urgent court application by signing and sharing its petition.
