He’s given an assurance that he has been in discussions with the human settlements ministry about the growing pollution problem in the Emfuleni Municipality.

He said the department was also engaging with the office of Gauteng Premier David Makhura.

Mabuza noted that the intervention of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), in assisting with clean-up operating at the dam, have yielded notable positives.

“Work is currently underway to expedite the commissioning of additional capacity resulting in upgraded infrastructure. In fact the work done in Emfuleni is quite inspiring but there has been a delay & lack of maintenance of the existing infrastructure.

“We will be convening a meeting with the Premiers of the affected provinces to ensure that we agree on implementation on an integrated plan that will respond comprehensively to the sewer spillage that continues to pollute the Vaal river,” Mabuza explained.

Mabuza further revealed that a minimum of R1.1-billion is required to stop the pollution of the Vaal River. The intervention also requires:

• 44 pump stations and three wastewater treatment plants;
• Replacing and repairing gravity raising mains;
• Leak detection; and
• Addressing deficiencies in the network system.

Mabuza applauded the work the Department of Human Settlements has done in funding the work of the SANDF. Thus far, R240-million has been channelled from the department’s regional bulk infrastructure fund to support the army’s work at the Vaal River.

Also, Gauteng’s Cogta, as well as the Emfuleni Municipality, have also repurposed R110-million towards the province’s Department of Human Settlements to ensure the availability of funds for the project.

“What is urgent is to unblock the blockages that are there so that sewer can flow, we avoid further spillages into the river. I don’t think we should be deterred, let us be focused, in order to assist the situation there and deal with the problem,” he said.