Case opened after sewage dumped in residential area

Mpumalanga municipality is in hot water after its employees were found dumping raw sewage in a residential area.

It is alleged that on 31 October, a resident of Sheepmoor, near Ermelo, caught two employees from the Msukaligwa local municipality dumping raw sewage at an open space in the area.

The resident, who cannot be named to protect him from victimisation, alerted the Transvaal Agricultural Union of South Africa (TLU SA), which assisted him in reporting the matter to the police.

Resident reported raw sewage dumping to police

Mpumalanga police spokesperson Captain Magonseni Nkosi confirmed a case was opened against the municipality.

“The case was registered and is still under investigation and we have not yet made an arrest. Depositing filth, rubbish or refuse in a public space is not allowed,” said Magonseni.

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TLU SA regional manager Ronnie Schilling confirmed his union had assisted the resident to open the case.

“We received information from a local farmer who informed us that he had caught municipal employees red-handed dumping raw sewage in the Sheepmoor area.”

Schilling said the alleged illegal practice was posing severe environmental and health risks to surrounding communities and the local ecosystem.

Environmental and health risks

“The illegal dumping of sewage in the area has been ongoing for years, but it was not known who the culprit was until recently, when the municipality’s employees were reportedly caught in the act. We prepared a criminal case with the necessary evidence and accompanied the witness to the local Saps to register the case,” he said.

Schilling said water pollution had a direct and serious impact on the Sandspruit, the Morgenstond Dam, and the Jericho Dam, which are crucial water sources for thousands of residents in the area.

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It is not the first time the municipality has found itself on the wrong side of the law due to water pollution allegations.

In September last year, the Middelburg High Court in Mpumalanga found the municipality guilty of eight counts relating to water pollution.

The case was brought to court by the department of water and sanitation after the municipality failed to comply with its directives aimed at preventing water pollution in the area.

Municipal spokesperson Mandla Zwane had not responded to the questions sent to him.