The state of Ncandu River under fire

The battle is on!

An official at Newcastle Municipality announced the ‘commencement’ of the Ncandu River clean-up campaign via social media on July 9.

Despite several attempts to receive confirmation of the initiative from senior officials, the launch thereof could not be verified.

Although a media statement regarding the details of the initiative is yet to be disclosed, photos revealed a machine had been used to physically extract Pistia Stratiotes, more commonly known as ‘water cabbage’, from the river.

The Newcastle Advertiser published an article on its website last week, highlighting Ncandu River’s ten-year legacy of deterioration.

In response, our readers lashed out, expressing their disgust about the state of the river.

Here’s way they had to say:

“And as teens in the late 50’s and early 60’s we used to have family picnics there and at the Ncandu Falls it was so beautiful!! Its very very sad to see it in this state! Actually its a shame!” – Madge Hellerle.

“Thank you the the ANC and its council. Whoooooo.”- Ryno Peanat Connoway

“They fotgot to mention this to the TV people,” – Garrith Cronje.

“Dis hart seer regtig. Ons land was altyd so skoon. Nou is dit soos die hellzone.” – Silvia Human.

“Pathetic it smells worse than a bloody sewer farm.” – Paula Kaber.

“People need to die before anything is done. Typical of us as humans, let it kill everything but as soon as it harms us then it becomnes a problem.” – Kelvin Deysel.

“South Africa’s water resources were Nationalised by the ANC regime in 1996. Farmers were banned from building dams and taxed for using water to grow crops. Someone was given an office and appointed to run the water resources. They were tasked with forming a committee to decide what expensive german car to buy for out of office activities. To date that committee still convenes every six months to replace that vehicle. Job done!” – Warren Gage.

*Comments quoted verbatim from Facebook.

After the news broke, a nature enthusiast came forward, claiming physically removing the water cabbage would do more harm than good.

“What’s the point of ruining all the plants if they’ll just grow back next year? Removing the plants won’t solve the problem. The municipality needs to focus on the cause of the water cabbage, which is sewage poisoning the water. This seems to me like a waste of tax payers’ money!” she exclaimed.

Despite the negative feedback online, the community was grateful action was finally being taken.

Only time will tell whether the ambitious campaign will be successful in the long run. In the meantime, residents cling to a glimmer of hope that all is not lost in the plight of Ncandu River.