The Democratic Alliance (DA) has today laid criminal charges at Sannieshof Police station against the Tswaing Local Municipality Mayor, Lydia Malwane, and the Municipal Manager (MM), Isaac Moruti, for negligence and mismanagement of the sewage spill in Agisanang. Please see photos here, here, here, and here.
The DA has furthered laid charges against the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality(NMMDM) Mayor, Justice Mokolomakwa, and the Acting MM Dambuza for failing to bring accountable leadership to deal with the spill as the district municipality.
Tswaing has a service level agreement with the NMMDM and are jointly responsible to maintain water and sanitation services.
Agisanang is submerged by sewage on every street as residents struggle to enter and exit their houses. Please see photos here, here, here, and here.
This overflow of sewage subjects residents to potential health risks. Residents already complain of diarrhoea and irritation of respiratory systems which they attribute to the sewage overflow.
Earlier this year, there were several cases in Agisanang of people falling sick with diarrhoea, Sannieshof health centre could not meet the demands to supply diarrhoea medication.
The lack of sanitation management in Agisanang is causing pollution to the environment as the sewer runs with gravitational flow into the Hartsrivier.
The sewer sump of Agisanang is also dysfunctional with sewer drenching the catchment area of the Hartsrivier and polluting the grazing fields of livestock.
Section 24 and 27 of the South African Constitution clearly stipulates that everyone has a right to an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing, to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations and there must be legislative measures taken to prevent pollution and ecological degradation.
The failure of Tswaing Local Municipality and NMMDM’s leadership to ensure proper sanitation deprives people of their right to live in dignity. This is a recurring issue and has been happening despite residents reporting it to the municipality and the NMMDM.
The DA has on several occasions reported this sewage spill to both municipalities, however, our pleas continue to be ignored whilst residents continue to live in these inhumane conditions.
The DA will continue to put pressure on the municipality to fix the sewage spill, should the municipality fail to do so, we will continue to lay a charge against them at the South African Human Rights Commission.
By allowing this sewage to go unabated the ANC government is once again proving that they are not concerned with the well-being of the people of Tswaing.
The people of Tswaing deserve a government that will prioritise their well-being by addressing challenges of sanitation through proper management and maintenance of infrastructure.