MODIMOLLE – THE DA Limpopo laid criminal charges against Modimolle Municipality municipal manager, Sam Bambo last Wednesday.
DA councillor in Modimolle, Johann Abrie, said this followed Bambo’s failure to salvage the situation of a dysfunctional sewerage system causing a possible health and environmental disaster that could cause a cholera outbreak in the area.
Abrie said desperate parents whose children played in the river below Phagameng, business owners, farmers and conservationists had been trying to no avail to get the municipality to repair the sewerage system. Abrie further said the main source of human faeces and polluted water flooded directly into the Nyl River, which is one of the province’s most sensitive feeders to the Limpopo river.
“It is clear that Bambo disregards and violates at least two environmental acts. He must be held accountable for any health disaster that may occur,” he said.
Modimole police spokesperson, WO James Sindly confirmed that a criminal charge had been laid against Bambo for allegedly disregarding and violating both the National Water Act (Act No 36 of 1998) and the National Environmental Management Act (Act No. 107 of 1998).
Bambo said he did not know why the DA had laid a criminal charge against him because there was a contractor on site fixing the waste water treatment works. “So far, I have not received any documentation from the police or court. I’m still waiting and I will take it from there,” he said.
Municipal spokesperson, Patrick Shika, said they had completed phase one of the waste water treatment works and phase two was supposed to have been implemented in 2012/13, but due to the costs (budget versus implementation costs) involved, the project could not be implemented.
He said the waste water treatment works had experienced mechanical breakdowns on the inlet screw pumps which fed the raw influent into the site.
“Temporary measures were made to address the overflows by arranging extra submersible pumps. The major cause of the overflow of manholes was the rain the municipality experienced late last year and early this year.
“The municipality has appointed contractors to upgrade the waste water treatment works. The first task for the appointed contractors is to attend to the inlet works.
“It is anticipated that the project will be completed this year,” Shika said.
