Petition urges Ramaphosa to declare Vaal River System a provincial disaster

A petition directed at President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare the Vaal River system a provincial disaster is gaining rapid momentum, with over 2,000 signatures garnered in less than a week, reports Sedibeng Ster.

The petition, which was launched by Viccy Baker, a concerned resident in Vanderbijlpark, on April 22, draws attention to the fact that:

“… streets, homes, schools, offices, and parks are awash with sewage.

“Not one of the Waste Water Treatment Works under the control of Emfuleni Local Municipality is fully operational, resulting in over 100 million litres of raw sewage being pumped into the Vaal River System every single day.

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“Most of the 44 sewage pump stations designed to lift the sewage to the treatment works are completely out of commission.

“Many sections of the 2,600km of wastewater pipes are broken and have been left unrepaired for weeks or months. The army, which was sent in to fix the problem, does not have the funds or the expertise to complete the task,“ said Baker.

Baker says that, in terms of the Disaster Management Act, there is a budget available for disasters from National Treasury.

“Declaring the Vaal River System a disaster area would trigger a coordinated approach to the issue from a number of government departments and would also unlock funds to enable the work to be done.

“The Act specifies that proper monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the work, something which has been conspicuously absent in the past, would be put in place.”

Once significant numbers have been gathered, Baker intends to present the petition to the office of the president.

The Vaal River System is as much of a disaster as more recent, flood-driven crises, she says.

“The Emfuleni Local Municipality, even under partial administration, is non-functional.”

The new mayor, who has been in office for more than three months, spoke recently on CNBC Africa and demonstrated that he did not have the slightest grasp of the problem. There are almost no qualified personnel, vehicles or spare parts to fix the wastewater treatment plants, pump stations, and sewage pipes.

Desperate residents are taking matters into their own hands to fix the sewage pipes in their areas. In the meantime, the Vaal River has become a giant cesspool.

“Our petition calls on the president to listen to the calls of the suffering people in the Vaal. We urge residents to sign it now.“

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