Red Tape Holding Up Vaal River Sewage Pollution Clean-up?

By Craig Kotze
Bureaucratic power struggles, red tape and not “concentrating on the mission” are threatening to bring the huge “national-interest” Vaal River sewage pollution clean-up project to a grinding halt unless resolved very soon, according to stakeholders.
Failure to maintain momentum could negatively impact the Vaal regional economy again as water and sewage infrastructure issues affect all service delivery and economic functions, according to the Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC).
Combined with other local Government crises – such as confusion surrounding Emfuleni’s smart meter programme, looming electricity price hikes combined with increasing electricity and cable theft – it was essential the Vaal clean-up was rolled out according to plan, said GTCoC President Stefan Olivier.
“So much good work has already been done by the Army and those supporting them – we cannot allow that to go to waste and we must get to the next level as soon as possible.
“We look to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and other departments involved to immediately resolve any such administrative issues with all departments and entities involved, including the Emfuleni Local Municipality,” said Olivier.
Olivier said business was seeing “multiple red flags” popping up on the Vaal project despite it being given “overwhelming” public profile by national Government before the May 8 elections when a number of Cabinet Ministers did whirlwind tours amid much fanfare.
Olivier said a major indicator of project problems was the sudden lack of formal and public feedback on progress and planning on the project.
“When one embarks on such a project to restore confidence and trust in Government and local Government one should at all costs avoid a lull in communication – but since the national elections there has been silence and now multiple crises are emerging,” said Olivier.
The present situation has forced certain role-players to consider breaking the logjam by appealing to the highest levels of Government.
Central to the problem in the multi-departmental project – involving several layers of co-operative governance from national to municipal level- is failure to yet complete co-ordinating administrative arrangements to release budgets to implementing entities, according to several civil society stakeholders.
The result is that entities such as the SA National Defence Force – deployed in the Vaal by the National Government as an emergency measure late last year – are left dangling at the end of budgetary and supply chain issues.
“The GTCoC retains its trust and confidence in the Vaal Army and those entities supporting them and so we can only imagine their huge frustration at wanting to get the job done but being prevented by red tape that can be instantly resolved by a few signatures,” said Olivier.
A number of official role-players contacted for comment by Ster/Vaalweekblad were not available or did not respond to requests for comment.