Ramaphosa and media saw ‘wrong part’ of Rooiwal, says local farmer

Even as President Cyril Ramaphosa was being shown the crumbling Rooiwal sewage facility near Hammanskraal yesterday, his guides didn’t take him to the back of the dysfunctional facility, where raw, untreated sewage was being pumped into the Apies River, creating a thick foam of gunge on the surface.

And when a local farmer tried to speak to the president about the situation, he was turned away by Ramaphosa’s security detail.

Ramaphosa saw ‘wrong part’

Local farmer Theuns Vogel said the president and media saw the wrong part of Rooiwal.

“The president must go look at the other side where the cholera started. They don’t even see the sh*t in the water,” he said.

ALSO READ: ‘We are sorry’: Ramaphosa offers apology to Hammanskraal residents over water quality issues

When you drive around the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant, you cross the Apies River, which is clear enough to spot fish.

Earlier this year, Vogel led a court case against the city because tankers were not supplying the community with water.

“I have to collect extra water on a Thursday and Sunday because there is not enough water for my 186 cattle. Nothing works at Rooiwal,” he said.

“They must just fix the damaged parts of Rooiwal because 70% of it can be recovered. We have offered to help them numerous times, but they don’t want help.”

Vogel said the excrement could be turned into pellets and the Rooiwal power station, which has been out of order for almost 12 years, could be reinstated. The stench was unbearable, he said.

ALSO READ: Cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal ‘very urgent’ – Mchunu

“You don’t get used to it. It gets worse at night. That smell starts sitting in your clothes and in your house.”

Ramaphosa was shown a portion of the plant with visible sewage streaming through pipes to be cleaned and processed. Many of the pipes were out of order and there were also signs of a recent sewage overflow.

The president, who was accompanied by Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi, Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu, and City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink, seemed shocked by what he saw.

The politicians also didn’t see the solar heating beds, where the wastewater containing solids was supposed to be dried and used to make compost. It was empty, which meant no solid waste was being extracted or treated.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa to visit Hammanskraal amid cholera outbreak

A City of Tshwane worker with over 30 years’ experience working with sewage agreed to speak on condition of anonymity. He said he had offered to help run the wastewater works, free of charge, but had not had any feedback from the municipality, nor the three MMCs he had contacted.

Rooiwal the source of cholera outbreak?

Brink said it could not be confirmed whether Rooiwal was the source of the cholera outbreak which had taken more than 20 lives in the Hammanskraal area.

“The cholera outbreak has again highlighted the problem with the quality of water,” he said.

He has been in talks with the department of water and sanitation for several weeks and had met Mchunu about Rooiwal before the outbreak of cholera.

ALSO READ: Hammanskraal cholera outbreak: ‘Stop passing the bucket’

Ramaphosa told hundreds of Hammanskraal residents, who mobbed him with joy when he arrived, that the collapse of the Rooiwal treatment facility was the fault of the municipality, which had ignored repeated warnings from the national department of water and sanitation about the need for repairs and maintenance at the facility.

– marizkac@citizen.co.za