Property owners in Standerton fight battle since 2013
The sorry saga began in 2013 when the drains to three houses were blocked, and the pumping station was vandalised and not working.
A nine-year-long sewage overflow in Johann Street, Meyerville has possibly taken a turn for the better as regards some of the families, but the situation remains indisputably alarming.
The Standerton Advertiser published an article in April this year on the conditions at a certain part of Johann Street.
Residents’ houses are damaged to the point of total collapse since its foundations have to bear the onslaught of sewage spillages.
Corné Stoltz, Freedom Front Plus councillor, then alerted the newspaper to the plight of the families.
In a letter to the then manager of the Lekwa Municipality, LD Tsotetsi, the spillages at the pump stations in Johann and Steijn Streets were emphasised.
Pollution of the Vaal River, a regular newsworthy item, came to the forefront again this past week.
The Standerton Advertiser has it on good authority that the Green Scorpions (Environmental Management Inspectorate) was in the Standerton Magistrate’s Court the past week with regards to river pollution.
With regards to the damage to the properties, a trustworthy source said the families and Lekwa could settle out of court.
Council however, still has to put the rubber stamp on it after internal municipal processes have been followed.
The date of the next council meeting could not be confirmed.
Officials from Lekwa, including the mayor, Louis Delani Thabethi, and the former MM, Johnny Mokgatsi, as well as Stoltz, paid a visit to the area early December 2020 to ascertain the extent of the damage at 2A, 2B and 2C Johann Street.
The inside walls of the one house are full of damp and mould.
The Freedom Front Plus then wanted that contamination of the river be brought to the attention of the World Health Organisation, CoGTA, Green Scorpions and Blue Scorpions.
Constitutionally-wise and legally-wise, it is an open-and-shut case.
The sorry saga began in 2013 when the drains to three houses were blocked, and the pumping station was vandalised and not working.
Former councillor of the DA in the ward, Louis van Rensburg, also tried to assist the residents and took photos.
The health factor and environmental impact due to all the moisture, close to the properties, can’t be ignored.
One of the residents said on Wednesday, August 24 that it is unbearable at the one property with spillages on the right side, left side and back.
“It is a health risk for people and animals,” he added.
People are trapped in their houses with not an inkling of any social life possible.
Walls and the foundation of two properties on the one stand are cracked, with mould inside.
A criminal charge was previously laid against the municipality and the former municipal manager, Gugu Ntshangase.
A video of the spillage will be published on www.ridgetimes.co.za for further clarification.
The newspaper contacted the communications officer of the municipality, Thando Nkosi, on August 24, asking whether any policy exists as regards pollution of the Vaal River.
Nkosi said the same day that she will check.
Four open-water swimmers swam 16km of the river in March last year to raise awareness of its contamination and help seek solutions.
