DENEYSVILLE – With thousands of spiritual believers planning their 2025 Easter pilgrimages to rivers, it appears that not only their souls may need saving but their lives too.
This is according to Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina, who gave a stern warning to churches urging all worshippers to stay far away from riverbanks and flooded dams this Easter.
Majodina was speaking from the edge of the overflowing Vaal Dam on April 9, during her visit to monitor the dam following recent heavy rains.
The minister made it clear that the government is not against any baptism, but rather the dangers that come with it, as dams and rivers across the country are overflowing.
Accompanied by deputy minister David Mahlobo, Rand Water’s chairperson Ramateu Monyokolo and CEO Sipho Mosai, the minister toured the dam to assess the damage from the recent relentless rainstorms.
With the Vaal Dam sitting at 116% full last Wednesday, some sluice gates are wide open, and so is the risk of being swept away.
“It might not be raining where a person is, but when we open sluice gates, they [congregants] will be washed away. We want to give caution to all citizens that dams are full,” she said.
The minister’s warning was not only directed at the faithful but also to those who encroach on the dam and the rivers.
Families living near riverbanks and fishermen hoping to cast a line this Easter weekend were also told to pack up and go.
Adding on to the alert, Mahlobo said it can’t be considered a disaster but an “illegal activity” when people deliberately encroach and build on flood lines and get swept away.
“You would know that there are other people who own dams. Whether it is other departments, municipalities, or farmers, if their dams don’t have proper spillways, the ministry is going to be hard on them. Should those dam walls crack, there are going to be consequences,” he said.
“We must make it a campaign to remove those in the flood lines. Now and then, it looks like it’s a disaster. It is not a disaster when you deliberately decide to encroach,” he said.
With Gauteng, Free State, and North West provinces all experiencing high inflows, the water authorities aren’t taking any chances. Dr Tseliso Ntili, Justice Maluleke, and Luxolo Mditshane, heads of provincial water management, backed the call to remove people from the riverbanks.
