Before the meeting a large entourage accompanied the minister to Emfuleni’s wastewater infrastructure sites. Dignitaries included Gauteng premier, David Makhura, and the mayors of Sedibeng and Emfuleni and officials of Emfuleni, Metsi a Lekoa and Rand Water.
But Thursday’s meeting must be seen against the backdrop of an online meeting the day before, when the deputy Water and Sanitation Minister, Dikaledi Magadzi, met with selected officials and non-government organisations (NGOs) in Gauteng.
Notably national NGOs, such as the South African Water Caucus (SAWC), the Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) and groundWork, and even the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) had not received invites. Local and Gauteng regional NGOs conveyed dedicated messages to Mchunu’s deputy on various hotspots in the province.
DWS’s Dr Konarani Khorrrombi, director of the new proto-Vaal-Orange catchment management agency (CMA) spoke on DWS’s plans to organise water catchment forums (WCFs), water user associations (WUAs) and the irrigation boards (IBs).
Leading members of the four catchment forums of Vaal Barrage Management Areas, and NGOs, like the Federation for a Sustainable Environment (FSE) and the Action for Responsible Management of our Rivers (ARMOUR), articulated their concerns about the state of local rivers, water and sanitation issues, and
the province’s acid mine drainage crisis. Both SAVE and ARMOUR have been doing sterling work in Gauteng townships.
The Wednesday meeting also featured water and sanitation Forums (W&SFs) created in 2015 by DWS in parts of Gauteng. These forums report township water leaks. Its members undergo training to repair leaks – potentially as contractors.
At Thursday’s ministerial meeting with locals the Golden Triangle Business Chamber and SAVE’s presence was acknowledged. However, only the business chamber’s CEO, Klippies Kritzinger, spoke on the importance of reviving the local economy.
Mchunu stressed he was in ongoing communication with Save the Vaal Environment (SAVE).
Other NGOs doing presentations on Thursday included Afriforum, the Bophelong W&SF and the Liberation Struggle’s Veterans Association, who had stopped their guarding of the wastewater infrastructure in Sebokeng after they had apparently not been paid for several months.
Mchunu’s Vanderbijlpark meeting message was clear. Emfuleni is no longer only an industrial node. The local economy’s future now relies on developing the Vaal River Barrage as a tourist destination. Therefore the river needs a thorough clean-up. He stressed the role of political leaders and officials of Gauteng, Sedibeng District Municipality, Emfuleni Local Municipality and Rand Water. They also have financial obligations to the environmental health restoration of the river.
On Friday Emfuleni hosted an investment summit. Local businesses engaged with key strategic investors. More deliberations followed at Pont Du Val resort complex, below the Barrage. Commander Tsietsi Mokhele, leader of the new Vaal Riverway Agency, spoke on boosting local tourism on the river.
Local businessman, Dr Tielman Slabbert, a research specialist on poverty and development in the Vaal region, is convinced that Vaal River Barrage tourism can create at least 45 000 jobs for unemployed people. The Vaal River Agency is key to the strategic plan.
*The author is an extraordinary professor in the Faculty of Humanities at North-West University’s Vanderbijlpark campus.
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