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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape was recently victorious in its almost five-year long battle to force the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) to stop the unabated flow of raw sewage through the town of Fort Beaufort and into the Kat River.

For many years wastewater has been spilling outside the homes of residents, and from manholes and the water treatment works and into the Kat River due to failed sewage pump stations and chronic lack of regular maintenance.

The ADM has been in continuous contravention of the National Water Act that provides for the protection of quality of water and simultaneously does not provide immunity to organs of state, as well as the Constitution and Municipal Systems Act that oblige municipalities to prevent pollution and to protect the environment.

On 12 July 2018 I laid criminal charges against the ADM at the Fort Beaufort Police Station. Due to a lack of progress by the police, I contacted the Green Scorpions and the South African Human Rights Commission.

Laboratory analysis of water test samples taken at various spots along the Kat River then indicated that the maximum allowable levels of pollution were exceeded by a factor of 42 million.

In March of this year the Makhanda Regional Court fined the ADM to the amount of R3 million, which was suspended for five years on condition that the municipality complies with strict conditions.

These conditions include:

• Renewed application for a water use licence;
• Repairs to all pump stations to be completed within a year;
• All pump stations and the treatment works to be secured in order to prevent theft and vandalism;
• Proof of appointment of an Environmental Assessment Practitioner;
• Once the required water use licence is obtained, regular monitoring is to be done on the quality of the effluent discharge; and
• An external auditor to be appointed by the municipality to monitor performance and submit evidence on a three-monthly basis, relative to the water use licence.

The municipality’s compliance with these instructions will be monitored by an Environmental Assessment Practitioner and an external auditor.

The DA will hold the ADM to account and will fight to ensure that environmental crimes do not go unpunished.

Issued by Cllr Ernie Lombard - DA Raymond Mhlaba Caucus