The Executive Mayor of the Tshwane Metro, Nasiphi Moya, openly accepted responsibility for negligence after the Bronkhorstspruit Water Treatment Works supplied untreated water to residents for nearly three weeks.
Between 24 September and 14 October, the water supply was not treated with chlorine. Consequently, 408 people – most of them children under the age of four – had to be hospitalised with gastroenteritis.
Water tests revealed extremely high levels of E. coli as well as pathogens such as norovirus, Campylobacter and Shigella.
Not only did the Mayor and her Mayoral Committee Member for Utilities, Molatelo Mashola, fail to ensure that the water supplied to residents was properly treated with chlorine, but also failed to timeously warn residents that the water was not safe for drinking, cooking, washing or bathing.
The water was so severely contaminated that not even boiling it made it potable.
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) had warned of the serious decay and lack of maintenance at the Bronkhorstspruit plant as far back as 24 June this year. Those warnings fell on deaf ears.
The Mayor has now acknowledged that officials failed to inform senior leadership in time and that communication was poor. This is not merely a service delivery failure – it is maladministration that created a serious health risk for vulnerable residents.
While other parties lodged criminal cases with the police, the Freedom Front Plus is taking a complementary route focused on accountability and prevention:
- A complaint of maladministration and misconduct is lodged with the Public Protector (PP). The complaint centres on the failure to escalate critical information to senior management, the lack of oversight at the plant, and the failure to warn residents.
- A complaint is also lodged with the Green Scorpions (environmental management inspectors) regarding the ongoing sewage pollution of the Bronkhorstspruit River. This River, from which the Bronkhorstspruit Treatment Works draws water, is polluted by dysfunctional wastewater works and pump stations of the Tshwane Metro and Victor Khanye. This pollution exacerbated the crisis.
The residents of Bronkhorstspruit, Zithobeni, Dark City, Rethabiseng and Sokhulumi deserve safe water. They also deserve a government that holds those responsible to account – not only in words, but also through formal investigations and remedial action.
The Freedom Front Plus demands competent technical management instead of political appointments, proper oversight of water and sewage infrastructure, and swift, transparent communication when things go wrong.
The Bronkhorstspruit incident demonstrates why change is necessary.
The party will closely follow the outcomes of these complaints and keep residents informed. Access to safe water is not a privilege – it is a right.
