Minister Senzo Mchunu of the Department of Water and Sanitation South Africa led a delegation to visit water and sanitation infrastructure in Lekwa on Thursday, July 21.
A police presence was noticeable in Mbonani Mayisela Street in front of the Standerton Town Hall from early on.
The delegation focused on the sewage spillage in Rooikoppen and the under-capacitated waste water treatment works, with the intention of assessing the water and sanitation status at Lekwa.
The delegation consisted of Deputy Ministers of Water and Sanitation, Dikiledi Magadzi and David Mahlobo, Mpumalanga Premier, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, MEC for CoGTA, Mandla Ndlovu, Executive Mayor of the Gert Sibande District Municipality, Walter Mngomezulu, as well as the Executive Mayor of Lekwa, Louis Delani Thabethe.
Department Director-General Dr Sean Phillips was also in Standerton.
According to the communications department of Lekwa, a working session was held afterwards to discuss the findings of the assessments and find solutions.
Their first stop was the Rooikoppen Sewage Pump Station and Minister Mchunu and Deputy Minister Mahlobo then conducted a site visit at the Standerton Waste Water Treatment Works.
The capacity of the plant is at 9 mega litres per day.
According to information, both the pump station and waste water treatment works are currently not functioning optimally.
“The state of sanitation in the municipality is a disaster,” the Minister said.
He was not impressed with the situation on the ground.
“What I see here is a big challenge and very embarrassing,” he said.
“What is good is that the Premier and MEC are here. ”
He also said clear decisions have to be taken, while Premier Mtsweni-Tsipane said Lekwa has always been a problem.
She highlighted the importance of an integrated approach.
“Minister, we want to say that Lekwa has always been a thorn in our flesh.
“The department has assisted, but the problem continues and we are still not making a breakthrough.”
According to the Premier, the challenge has many facets and she agreed with the Minister that the situation was embarrassing.
“Let us do right for the people of Lekwa,” she said.
The Minister emphasised that they need to intervene and contribute to the interventions.
The department will contribute about R300-million for the interventions.
“There must be intervention on water works, wastewater works, pump stations and reservoirs both in Standerton and Morgenzon.”
He called on the municipality to deal with all legally related matters and clean its image.
In relation to sewage spillages which were the core business of the working session, the Minister called for a sequence of actions to deal with the problem.
“People want to see sewage disappearing from their yards and want to see clean water.
“There is a need to analyse, prioritise and sequence actions,” he stated.
Minister Mchunu also called for the prioritisation of operations and maintenance.
According to the statement, the Gert Sibande District Municipality committed to intervene in relation to the challenge capacity.
He also called on the department to follow-up and ensure that there are no mines operating without licences in the municipality, to ensure that they comply with the prescripts of the National Water Act.
“We will be interacting at technical and political levels,” he concluded.
“We will be interacting until we turn the situation around.”
A stakeholders engagement to update and engage the public was eventually not held at the town hall.
Wilma Venter, Freedom Front Plus-councillor for Ward 10, said on Friday, July 22 she is hugely disappointed that the meeting with stakeholders did not take place.
