The Govan Mbeki Municipality’s executive mayor, Mr Nhlakanipho Zuma, was devastated to see that the eMbalenhle sewage treatment plant is not functional.
He visited the plant during a municipal service delivery outreach on Monday, October 11.
Mr Zuma, some councillors and the municipal officials visited the plant unannounced.
Upon their arrival, they began to inspect the plant, but the mayor was told the plant is not working because of stolen cables and tools.
The mayor also asked the acting municipal manager if cases have been opened at the police for all the things that had been stolen.
The municipal manager only knew of a case of cable theft, and nothing about the tools.
When Mr Zuma asked the employees where the community’s sewage is going, he was told that the sewage does not even come to the treatment plant because the plant is not operational.
Councillors questioned the issue of a security company that was given the contract to safeguard the plant.
They asked why the municipality is keeping on a company that failed to adhere to their contract to protect the plant.
The mayor walked out of the plant unhappy and angry.
He will call an urgent meeting to seek clarity from the municipal officials on what is happening with the eMbalenhle sewerage plant.
He also wanted to know why the sewage suck trucks still offload sewage at the plant when it is not working.
Recently, the municipality appeared before the Human Rights Commission because of the community’s numerous complaints about sewage spills.
The Commission recommended certain corrective steps to rectify the situation.
The Commission has further found that:
•The municipality was also in breach of their obligations in terms of section 9 of the National Standards and Measures to Conserve Water by continuing to accept more sewage waste into their sewer systems than the sewage treatment plants linked to those systems are capable of purifying or treating to the required standard.
• Whilst the causes of these challenges are many, they may be attributed to the constrained capacity of existing sewer systems as a result of poorly planned and executed development.
Lack of pre-emptive and routine maintenance of the sewer systems; inadequate monitoring and evaluation of project delivery and lack of accountability for the poor workmanship in the installation of the sewer network in the jurisdiction of the respective municipality. Inadequate security measures to safeguard sewerage infrastructure.
