Urgent court application looms if Emfuleni Municipality does not resolve sewage problem.

AfriForum calls on the Emfuleni Local Municipality to submit a comprehensive emergency action plan within the next three days and to indicate how the ongoing sewage pollution at pump stations 8 and 10 in Drie Riviere, Vereeniging, will be stopped immediately. This follows the organisation becoming aware that thousands of liters of raw sewage are flowing into the Vaal River daily due to broken pumps.

Should the municipality fail to respond, AfriForum will approach the court on an urgent basis to compel the municipality to take action. Through its legal team, AfriForum has reminded the municipality of its constitutional and statutory obligations, and that these obligations are currently being breached by allowing raw sewage to flow continuously into the Vaal River.

This latest instance of sewage pollution comes amidst various other legal actions against the Emfuleni Municipality regarding sewage pollution elsewhere in the municipality. Three of these cases were initiated by AfriForum and are set to appear before the court again on 1 September 2026.

According to Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s head for the central region, the situation has long since ceased to be merely the result of poor management, but is instead the consequence of persistent incompetence and a lack of accountability. “April Ntuli has been acting as the municipal manager of the Emfuleni Municipality for more than four years, yet instead of improving, the situation has only spiralled further out of control under his leadership. The Vaal River continues to be polluted, infrastructure is further collapsing, and residents’ constitutional right to an environment that is not harmful to their health is being violated daily.”

Grobbelaar says it is unacceptable that taxpayers repeatedly have to foot the bill when the municipality is dragged to court due to its own failure. “Every time AfriForum has to approach the court to compel the municipality to fulfill its legal obligations, public funds are used to oppose the case. This means residents pay twice: first with their tax money for services they do not receive, and then again for the municipality’s legal costs. It is simply unfair.”

AfriForum is of the opinion that the time has come for individual accountability to be seriously considered. “We would like to see those responsible for this persistent administrative failure also held personally accountable where the law provides for it. When senior officials fail to fulfill their statutory duties year after year, it can no longer be only the public that bears the financial consequences.”

According to Grobbelaar, the extent of the environmental damage is catastrophic. “Raw sewage has been flowing untreated into the Vaal River for quite some time. This pollution is destroying a strategic water source upon which millions of people depend and is exposing residents to serious health risks. This is not simply a local service delivery problem; it is a national environmental crisis.”

AfriForum emphasizes that the urgent court application is not aimed at claiming damages, but at compelling the municipality, by means of a court order, to fulfill its constitutional and statutory obligations and to immediately put an end to the ongoing sewage pollution.

“The community and the environment deserve better. If the municipality does not take decisive action within the next three days, AfriForum will ask the court to intervene. We will continue to use all available legal mechanisms until this environmental disaster is halted and accountable management is restored. Over the years, the Emfuleni Local Municipality has proven itself incapable of properly managing critical water and sewage infrastructure. It is time for the government to seriously consider alternative management models in which competent community institutions and other suitable role-players can play a greater part in the management and maintenance of this essential infrastructure. Residents can no longer be held hostage by a municipality that repeatedly fails to fulfill its constitutional obligations,” concludes Grobbelaar.