The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the Northern Cape office of the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to urgently act against Kamiesberg municipality for failing to halt the discharge of raw sewage into the veld.
Video footage taken by the DA in June (see here), shows how a municipal sewerage truck, which is parked across the road, releases its contents into a pipeline running through the veld to the sewerage plant. After sharing the footage, and being informed by the Municipal Manager (MM), Rufus Beukes, that he had instructed workers to address the matter, and that he arranged for a clean-up of the area, the pipeline is still leaking, causing additional spillage into the veld. I requested the MM to accompany me on an oversight visit, with the relevant technical staff. The date was set but they never arrived. I have since sent communication to the MM and the Speaker but have also not received a reply.
Drone footage of the Koingnaas waste-water treatment works, further shows how pools of sewage continue to collect in the surrounding area, highlighting the ongoing state of disrepair of the sewerage plant. See pic here and video here.
This is despite a recommendation made by Mr M Prince, the then environmental health practitioner at Namakwa District Municipality, dated 19 April 2022, that all household effluent, including raw sewage, be transported to the nearest sewerage treatment plant to prevent illegal discharge and protect the environment.
The High Court judgment in the matter of Koingnaas Belastingbetalersvereniging vs Kamiesberg Municipality (Case No: 2609/2021), also reinforces the municipality’s constitutional obligation to maintain functional water and sanitation systems, including waste disposal and environmental protection.
The municipality continues to show disregard for the law, and for our calls to immediately repair broken sewerage infrastructure and ensure the implementation of proper waste disposal practices. We have therefore submitted a formal request to DWS to speedily investigate and take action to enforce municipal compliance.
Koingnaas residents deserve to live in a clean, safe and healthy environment and the DA will keep on fighting for the dysfunctional state of the sewerage plant to be addressed.