The sewage problems of the Emfuleni Local Municipality (Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging) have over the past few weeks been exacerbated by a lack of maintenance and repairs to sewage pump stations.
While sewage is flowing down streets and flooding yards and manholes, Emfuleni is unable to respond to any complaints seeing as Rand Water withdrew the 14 bakkies it had loaned to the Municipality.
It followed the dismissal of Rand Water as contractor by the national Department of Water and Sanitation.
About a month ago, Tshogo Sun, the new owners of Emerald Casino, spent R1 million on repairs to the river pump station, after which the Municipality was merely responsible for maintaining the pump station.
This sewage pump station is located on the casino's riverbank. After two weeks, the pump station stopped working and the game reserve next to the casino was partially flooded with sewage.
In October 2021, the FF Plus lodged a criminal complaint at the Vanderbijlpark Police Station against the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, for Emfuleni's violation of the National Water Act and the National Environmental Management Act.
On 2 February 2021, the national Department took control of the Municipality's sewage treatment plants and was also responsible for upgrading pump stations to put an end to the sewage spills.
Before the takeover, the Department promised to spend R1,2 billion on repairing the broken-down pump stations.
An amount of R50 million was spent on repairs to the river pump station at Emerald Casino, the turbo-industrial pump station next to the R42 and pump stations across from the Riviera Hotel.
Just 7% of the work that the Department of Water and Sanitation promised to do has been done.
Emfuleni residents have had to bear the brunt of the Department and Municipality's maladministration and inability to govern Emfuleni properly for years now.
Emfuleni deserves better than the ANC.
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