Green and Blue Scorpions shocked by Thaba Chweu

He was, however, not in a position to provide a formal statement as the investigation is still pending. He and his colleagues were also accompanied by an investigator from the Blue Scorpions in Mbombela. The Blue Scorpions is the core regulatory component within the Department of Water and Sanitation, which was set up to ensure the protection of all water resources in the country as well as the enforcement of all water and sanitation laws and regulations. It is appointed in terms of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) of 2008. Water samples were taken at the bridge over the Dorps River towards Mashishing, the water treatment plant in Rivier Street, the pump station in Mashishing at the Marambane River, and the sewerage/water project at Extension 2. The now infamous Lydenburg Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) just outside Lydenburg on the R37 towards Burgersfort is one of the biggest issues in town. It has not been fully operational for the past four years. These are points of non-compliance in eight confirmed ongoing cases against TCLM. Most of these were opened in 2020 at the Lydenburg SAPS by DA councillors, alleging violations of human rights and pollution by TCLM in lieu of the National Environmental Management Act of 1998 and related environmental legislation. The Green and Blue Scorpions took over the investigation from Lydenburg SAPS. Sonja Boshoff (member of parliament, DA) and Gravette Herbst (DA councillor) also pointed out other areas of pollution and contamination of the town’s water system. Spiros Couvaras, another DA councillor, accompanied the delegation. In addition to the water treatment plant that has not been fully operational, several other health and safety concerns have been raised by concerned citizens. The Extension 2 sewerage project is part of the refurbishment of the sanitation infrastructure of TCLM, funded through the municipal infrastructure grant.

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Construction of the pump station started last year after residents had complained about the stench and the sewage leaking into the Dorps River for the past nine years. According to residents, the spills and stench made their lives unbearable, since they were forced to see human faeces flowing into the road and ultimately leaking into the Dorps River. There was a considerable amount of delay in progress, due to Covid-19 and the allocation of tenders. Steelburger/Lydenburg News reported on Thursday August 1, 2019 that the community had protested at the pump station and the group demanded that local service providers be allocated the contract. This matter has been taken up by the DA with TCLM and its technical division. “We are busy with big repairs and upgrades in Extension 2, and the pump station is also currently under construction. On Tuesday April 20 a submersion pump was installed with a crane, and after that a new control panel was connected to the municipality’s grid,” said Herbst.

“In my opinion, the Green and Blue Scorpions were very negative about TCLM and they have provided us with the necessary directives. Since the Green Scorpions’ previous visit in November, TCLM, however, has made positive strides to work on the problems at hand. Cllr Herbst and I would like to thank the task team for their speedy and continuous intervention in this regard. During this meeting, the two entities gave the insurance that all the investigations are in advanced stages. I wrote to the minister of human settlements, water and sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, and her deputy on April 4 last year in respect of the Extension 2 sewerage spill, and on November 9 about the waste water treatment plant. With the help of the media and the task force, the gravity of the state of affairs in TCLM has now received national recognition in the national government and was discussed in an open sitting in parliament,” said Boshoff.

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