The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the MEC for COGHSTA, Bentley Vass, to intervene and ensure that a formal disaster management framework is immediately established and implemented in the Magareng Municipality, as Warrenton residents face an escalating sanitation disaster.
Many homes are being flooded with raw sewage seeping through yards, doorways and living areas, destroying property, and posing a serious health and safety risk.
The disaster stems from an overflowing open sewage canal in Warrenton, which continues to spill into surrounding residential areas, particularly devastating homes in Uys Street, Van Wyk Street and Joubert Streets.
Warrenvale residents also experience raw sewage damming up in their yards because of blocked drains and a poor and outdated system.
Families are being cut off by the flooding, unable to safely enter or leave their homes. In one case, a mother was unable to reach her children after work because sewage had engulfed her property. This is one example of the daily trauma residents must endure.
The situation is compounded by inadequate stormwater drainage and ongoing rainfall, that has turned streets into rivers, accelerating the spread of sewage into homes. Collapsing infrastructure and a lack of emergency capacity, with only one sewerage truck, further aggravating the situation.
Despite repeated pleas for help, Magareng municipal management and technical teams have failed to act. While residents have complained and requested help for years, they have been abandoned in the face of this crisis.
This unfolding humanitarian and environmental emergency echoes the findings in the South African Human Rights Commission’s provincial inquiry, which warned that Magareng’s sanitation systems cannot cope with existing risks. It also flagged the municipality’s failure to activate a disaster response mechanism, leaving residents exposed, vulnerable and without relief.
The DA has formally requested MEC Vass to urgently intervene and coordinate a disaster response to contain the flooding, protect homes, and restore basic dignity to the people of Warrenton.