Vaal River pollution ‘beyond acceptable standards’, says SAHRC
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has found that the Vaal River system has been polluted “beyond acceptable standards”.
The commission released its report on the long-standing problem on Wednesday.
The report looked into the sewerage problem in the Vaal River after an inquiry was launched in 2018.
“Having considered the various media reports, court orders, submissions to the panel regarding the pollution of the Vaal, the commission accepts, as a basic premise, that the Vaal is polluted beyond acceptable standards,” saidcommissioner Jonas Sibanyoni.
ALSO READ: Parts of Soweto still without power
“The commission is hereby notifying the national, provincial government and local government that the Vaal River sewage is a crisis and local liability to the state.”
The report has further found that out of the 44 sewerage pumps situated in the municipality, only 11 were operational.
It also named maladministration under the Emfuleni Municipality as a contributing factor to the sewerage crisis.
“Contracts concluded by the municipality for the maintenance and repair of the wastewater systems that were not honoured by service providers, or were not entered into with the interest of the Municipality in mind was cited.
“This implies that the municipality has been giving away money without receiving any services in return. It was also specified that the municipality was not billing Rand Water accurately or running a proper account with Rand Water, and as a result was losing revenue, of approximately R90 million,” added Sibanyoni.
The Emfuleni Municipality was placed under administration in 2018, in the same year that the inquiry into the Vaal sewage crisis was launched.
Emfuleni Municipality owes power utility Eskom and Rand Water a combined R3.4 billion.
