Staff Reporter
Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has expressed shock at the state of the Kroonstad Waste Water Treatment Works which has broken down and is now depositing raw sewage into the Vaal River System.
The entire plant is not working despite undergoing a major upgrade in 2016.
Some parts of the plant have not been operational for over a year and raw effluent from the town is now being deposited in the nearby Vals River which flows into the Vaal River.
There is a constant heavy stench at the plant from the untreated sewage which pops out like a water fountain from the blocked manholes before rushing into the river.
About R60 million is needed to get the plant fully operational but the Moqhaka Local Municipality director for technical and infrastructure services, Sonnyboy Mokhale, told the minister and his delegation during a tour of the plant that an initial injection of at least R10 million could get the plant up and running before the major works.
A shocked Mchunu asked: “So, everybody in Kroonstad has been waiting for R10 million? . . . Really?”
The minister then turned to executive mayor Mpho Chakane and told him he wanted the plant fixed as it posed a major health hazard to the community.
“You can’t be associated with things that are not working. The fact that you’re new and you have just been installed is neither here nor there,” said Mchunu who was accompanied by his deputy David Mahlobo and Premier Sisi Ntombela.
“The issue is we are causing a hazard . . . to the environment and everybody else. It’s not permissible,” the minister added.
“It requires leadership and decisiveness on your part. This can’t be done. It has to stop. The municipality can’t work like that.”
There were immediate indications that R10 million could be sourced from the municipality but the minister suggested that the matter be ironed out in a stakeholder meeting so that the entire treatment plant is refurbished.
The stakeholder meeting was closed to the media and it ran into Friday evening.
Deputy President David Mabuza was initially earmarked to lead the visit to Kroonstad to assess the extent of the pollution but eventually withdrew.
The minister’s visit sought to address the structural and systematic challenges in the water value chain resulting in raw sewage flowing into streams, rivers and dams.