Sisulu gives us the big picture on Vaal pollution
The Vaal River sewage pollution crisis must be viewed by Government as seriously as the self-inflicted Eskom power crisis – and Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu should fully share her approach on a permanent solution when she visits the region on Tuesday.
Organised business views a permanent Vaal River pollution solution as underpinning the economic growth of the entire Emfuleni region due to the necessity of addressing the development and maintenance of the entire sewer and waste water infrastructure.
And with international media paying increasing attention to what is regarded as one of the premier environmental disasters confronting Southern Africa, the matter could yet explode into another nightmare for Government.
Over the years national Government has promised billions but only in December was a credible full-spectrum recovery strategy with waste water specialist Erwat launched – but with a limited national budget of R142 million for only the current financial year.
Sisulu’s intended visit comes against the background of intensive efforts by Emfuleni Executive Mayor Gift Moerane and organised business over December to establish a joint partnership structure on critical municipal projects such as the Vaal River pollution crisis.
“Minister Sisulu is most welcome but should take business and community stakeholders fully into her confidence this week and on an ongoing basis on how the Vaal crisis will finally and permanently be resolved, especially resourcing and budgetary issues.
“This is necessary to fully mobilise the local skills and resources of the business sector to fully support Government and Erwat at all levels,” said Golden Triangle Chamber of Commerce (GTCoC) Water and Sanitation spokesperson Rosemary Cloete-Anderson.
Minister Sisulu is expected on Tuesday for her first official Vaal visit in the Water and Sanitation cabinet portfolio and will also inspect work started in December by Erwat at the Sebokeng Waste Water Works using local Vaal contractors.
National Government had already promised R5billion as far back as a decade ago to resolve the sewage pollution issue but this has not materialised. Instead only ad hoc initiatives have been announced and even the deployment last year of the Army for engineering refurbishment has not developed into a consolidated recovery process.
Sisulu will also be briefed on the multi-faceted plan announced by Erwat late last year to tackle the issue wholistically and not only on refurbishment of infrastructure, but also on pipeline networks, maintenance, security and other related activities.
Erwat MD Tumelo Gopane kick-started the unblocking of the sewer pipeline network in December in Vereeniging with Mayor Moerane despite torrential rains having held up implementation plans.
Plans announced by Gopane late last year included the establishment of a project manaagement office to track developments in real-time and that as many local skills and service providers as possible would be accessed.
However, Erwat’s present allocated budget until March when the current financial year ends is only R142 million and it is not yet clear to what extent the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) will take the project further financially after that.
Speculation is intense that an additional R1,5 billion could be available from DWS after March depending on Erwat performance in the first phase of its deployment.
However, Cloete-Anderson said even the R1,5 billion would not be enough to restore the Vaal River and infrastructure and its ongoing management to efficient and sustainable levels again to underpin the exponential economic growth now needed in the Vaal.
“We need greater transparency on what Government intends to do and exactly how it sees making appropriate resources available.
“A permanent solution on the Vaal from an environmental, municipal and economic recovery and development perspective is vital because we cannot merely see recovery as the goal – we cannot play catch-up for ever and we must already be planning how to springboard to far greater prosperity for us all,” said Cloete-Anderson.
The GTCoC sees Mayor Moerane’s intended Business Forum as one of the premier platforms, along with national Government, to turn the Vaal sewage crisis into a broader trajectory for exponential economic growth and development, she added.
Greater clarity and communication on the extent of Government’s commitment to the Vaal project and its strategy would increase investor confidence and job creation in a region already in decline largely due to failing municipal services.
Minister Sisulu and all stakeholders should also pay greater attention to communication and reputation management on the Vaal River sewage pollution crisis to create greater trust and confidence at all levels of the community.
Although Erwat has access to a R3 million communication budget on the Vaal project, it has not yet revealed its planning or tendering process to utilise local expertise in this regard as it has on local engineering and other services.
