Heads must roll over dirty water

Nightmares are made of this… you open your kitchen tap and out pops a fish in dirty water.

Admittedly a tiny fish, but this is exactly what Lené Roux, chair of the Komatipoort Despondent Residents Association (KDRA), experienced a year ago.

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Raw sewage flowing in Komatipoort is a common sight, forcing residents – sick and tired of the unbearable odour – to take the Nkomazi local municipality to high court after their pleas to rectify the mess went unanswered.

Roux said the smell of sewage was so bad at times, her guests refused to eat in the dining room of her guest house in Komatipoort.

It’s also reported that the Transnet building in the town had to be evacuated due to repeated sewage spills into the building and customers had to wade through it to get to the local supermarket and hardware store, due to the Crocodile River having been contaminated.

Thanks to the residents, the court has ordered the municipality and its manager to urgently take steps to address the causes of the spillage and rehabilitate the contaminated sites.

In addition they must provide potable water to the residents and report back within 21 days.

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The residents are also allowed to appoint an expert to monitor the sewage works for 12 weeks, at the municipality’s cost, and compile a report for the court.

According to Vidette Roux, the attorney representing the residents, since the court order, they haven’t seen much of an improvement, with sewage still flowing from three different points.

Daily, over 800 children die from dirty water worldwide, due to poor water quality, sanitation and hygiene as 785 million people lack access to clean drinking water.

Komatipoort is essential to our tourism, bordering the Kruger National Park and Mozambique. Nkomazi municipality must catch a wake-up… or heads must roll.