WaterCAN finally lays criminal charges against the city manager
WaterCAN lays a criminal case against the city over their failure to address the ongoing sewage pollution.
WaterCAN, an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), has opened a criminal case against the City of Joburg’s (CoJ) former acting and recently appointed municipal manager over their failure to address the ongoing sewage pollution.
WaterCan conducted tests in the Fourways area, at the Klein Jukskei River near the Zandspruit pump station, on March 8. The results indicated that E.coli upstream was 64 000 CFU/100ml, and downstream of the pump station was over 100 000 CFU/100ml, which can be regarded as raw sewage and is not suitable to be consumed by humans and animals.
“Sewage pollution is killing our river ecosystems. South Africa is a water-scarce country, and such high levels of pollution are completely criminal. It is time to hold people accountable for not doing their jobs. Polluting water is a violation of basic rights, including the right to health,” says Dr Ferrial Adam, executive manager for WaterCAN.
According to Adam, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) issued a directive to CoJ in August 2022 for its failure to prevent pollution from the overflowing of the emergency dam of Bushkoppies in Eldorado Park. The directive ordered the former acting municipal manager at the time, to stop the pollution immediately and clean up. The department was also required to provide an action plan to correct non-compliance within seven working days, to appoint an environmental expert to compile a rehabilitation plan within 30 days, and to implement the full rehabilitation plan within 30 days of DWS approving that plan.
The criminal case has been opened at the Randburg Police Station after both city managers failed to address the sewage pollution in our rivers.
WaterCAN has been working with residents to address ongoing pollution in their areas and hopes to escalate the matter until it is taken seriously. “Sections 19 and 20 of the National Water Act deals with prevention and remedying the effects of pollution, and that is our basis for laying the criminal charges against CoJ. The failure to comply with the directive constitutes a criminal offence in terms of Section 151 of the Act and, as such, CoJ and the municipal manager should be held to account in accordance with the criminal justice system,” says Asavela Kakaza, OUTA’s legal project manager.
“Sewage pollution is a challenge across the country. Water activists must explore similar charges against municipal managers who are failing in their duties. This must be the beginning of holding officials to account for years of dereliction of duty of care over our water resources.”
Fourways Review reached out to the office of the city manager on July 26, but no comment was received by the time of going to print.
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