eThekwini is operating ‘under a cloud of secrecy’

The DA says eThekwini Municipality is operating “under a cloud of secrecy” and keeping both it and the public in the dark about the true state of its water and sanitation infrastructure.

The party has issued papers in the Pietermaritzburg high court effectively seeking to compel eThekwini to uphold environmental laws and the public’s constitutional right to “an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing”.

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Among the orders the DA seeks, is for eThekwini to file an “action plan” with the court within one month to ensure “concrete, tangible” steps are taken to end an “unlawful state of affairs” that includes raw sewage flowing into its beaches and river systems. It also wants eThekwini to report back to court on its progress within six months.

The DA says eThekwini’s failure to adequately maintain and operate its waste water treatment works pre-dates the April 2022 floods, and statements blaming the floods are a “half truth”.

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The DA says eThekwini’s ongoing failure is “an environmental disaster that has impacted the health and safety of its residents, resulted in repeated widespread beach closures and is crippling the economy of eThekwini, particularly the employment-intensive tourism sector”.

DA eThekwini caucus leader, Thabani Mthethwa, said in an affidavit that eThekwini has failed to provide the public with an open, accurate and up-to-date account of the condition of pump stations and affected beaches.

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The DA has documents that reveal that currently over 40% of pump stations in three regions of eThekwini “are not functional”, said Mthethwa.

As seen by ward councillors “pump stations spill [raw sewage] directly into the main central beaches and the Umbilo River,” he said.

Pump stations remain compromised with intermittent major spillages.
He says eThekwini has flouted national and international laws and its obligations as a “public trustee” and has not only failed to prevent pollution of public waterways but “has itself been guilty of polluting the waterways”.

Mthethwa says he recently became aware “multiple enforcement steps” were taken by the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) which eThekwini “ignored or failed to address” and that “high-ranking” eThekwini officials have been criminally charged for contraventions of the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and the Waste Water Act.

The charges date back to April 6, 2022. Yet the public has been entirely in the dark.
Mthethwa alleges eThekwini has no clear long-term plan to address the infrastructure concerns, including vandalism, which it now claims as the “predominant excuse” for the inoperability of its pump stations.

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“While it dithers, the public suffers and the rule of law is flouted,” he said.

Mthethwa said instead of addressing the concerns seriously and competently, eThekwini “makes out that all is well”.

He said eThekwini had reopened many beaches notwithstanding those beaches still having unacceptably high E.coli readings.

“Alarmingly” the DA learned this was without the approval of the environmental enforcement authority. As a result bathers and members of the public “have faced very serious risks to their health and wellbeing so that eThekwini could keep up appearances”, said Mthethwa.

He said it was “blatant” that the opening of the beaches was to coincide with seasonal tourism and the opening of beaches had become “a political spectacle”.

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Mthethwa said he has been told of family members who became ill from playing in rivers or swimming in the ocean.

I am told of scores of floating dead fish in Isipingo. I am told of a continual stench that those who live near the rivers endure.
Mthethwa said it would make sense for the court to hear the DA application along with two others brought by ActionSA and the Department of Water and Sanitation.

In a press briefing held on Wednesday, the DA said the matter is expected to be heard on April 3.