Millions allocated to clean up Vaal River
The Department of Water and Sanitation in Gauteng has allocated R241 million for cleaning-up operations at the Vaal River.
Work to clean up the pollution cause by the spillage of raw sewerage is expected to begin in December.
In November, Deputy President David Mabuza announced that R1.1 billion is required from Treasury to deal with pollution in the river.
Speaking on Vanderbijlpark on Tuesday, the chair of the ministerial rapid response task team Thami Ka Plaatjie says the government is aware of negative the pollution has on the environment and the residents’ heal.
Ka Plaatjie said an added concern is the impact on socio-economic growth and local businesses.
Earlier in the month Mabuza also confirmed that a R6 billion proposal has been submitted to Treasury to deal with South Africa’s water pollution as a whole.