Public Protector finds Tshwane failed to provide clean water to Hammanskraal residents

Acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka has found that there is undue delay and/or failure by the City of Tshwane to supply the residents of Hammanskraal with clean water that is suitable for human consumption.

This after more than 20 people died in Hammanskraal following a cholera outbreak earlier this year.

On Tuesday, the Office of the Public Protector released its findings into allegations that Tshwane had failed to provide the residents of Hammanskraal with clean water.

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“Having regard to the evidence and regulatory framework determining the standard that should have been complied with, the allegation that there is undue delay and/or failure by the CoT to supply the residents of Hammanskraal with clean water that is suitable for human consumption is substantiated,” said the public protector office.

Clean water for Hammanskraal residents

According to the report, the residents of Hammanskraal are not receiving clean water that is suitable for human consumption due to a partially functional and/or dysfunctional state and condition of the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works (Rooiwal WWTW).

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This despite Tshwane health department this week dismissing any links of cholera to the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant.

MMC for Health in Tshwane, Rina Marx, said a multidisciplinary intervention between local, provincial and national governments undertook water testing efforts from taps, water tankers, boreholes, bottled water, rivers and streams.

“No evidence suggested that the source of the outbreak is linked to Rooiwal,” said Marx.

However, the public protector said the Rooiwal WWTW plant treats 130 million litres a day while it is designed to treat 110 million litres a day.

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“As a result of this hydraulic overload and recurring mechanical breakdowns of machinery as indicated in the evidence, the final treated wastewater discharged from the Rooiwal WWTW plant into the Apies River does not comply with the quality standards set, which is a serious non-compliance issue,” reads the report.

Remedial action

The public protector has given Tshwane municipal manager 60 days to develop an implementation plan setting out the measures, including prioritisation of capital funding within its available resources to be undertaken to upgrade and refurbish the Rooiwal WWTW in order to address the ongoing water quality failures at the plant.

The municipal manager must submit the implementation plan to mayor Cilliers Brink for tabling before the municipal council and to the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for CoGTA in Gauteng for monitoring of implementation.

ALSO READ: Hammanskraal cholera outbreak: Water experts say they warned government about the issue

Brink has also been given 60 days to table a copy of the public protector’s report through the Tshwane speaker for discussion, and receive and consider the implementation plan developed by the municipal manager.

The Minister for Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, has also been given 60 days take measures to work collaboratively with Tshwane in addressing the water challenges in Hammanskraal.