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National government must intervene to save Dr Beyers Naude’s underground water resources

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Dear MyPE

The ongoing inability of the Dr Beyers Naude Local Municipality to address its sewage crisis can have a catastrophic impact on the underground water table in the area and decimate one of this drought-stricken Municipality’s most important water sources.

Yesterday, 7 October 2020, DA Shadow Minister of Water and Sanitation, Leon Basson, MP, DA Eastern Cape Shadow MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, Retief Odendaal, MPL, and local councillors conducted oversight inspections at sewage leaks in Graaff-Reinet. (see pictures here and here)

They also interacted with communities that are being adversely affected by the sewage spills in the Municipality.

The DA has been driving this issue since 2015 and in February of this year I laid criminal charges against the Dr Beyers Naude municipal manager, Dr Edward Rankwana, and the Municipality at the Graaff-Reinet Police Station. The charges were based on the Municipality’s inability to curb the flow of raw sewage into the Sundays River.

This pollution of the Sundays River has been ongoing over the past five years with the Municipality seemingly unable, or unwilling, to fix the pump stations that will stop the flow of raw sewage into the river.

There are now serious concerns that the continuous sewage spillages could lead to the pollution of precious underground water sources. This could have a disastrous impact on the Municipality as it currently relies heavily on groundwater due to an extended drought.

Last year I posed parliamentary questions to the Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, to ascertain what steps have been taken to address the allegations that the sewage pump stations are not working. The Minister responded on 15 January 2020 and wrote that the Municipality advised that all three pump stations were fixed and are operational 24 hours every day.

The Municipality is lying to national government and residents while their health and economic futures are being put at risk.

Mr Basson will now take the matter up in national parliament and request immediate intervention by Minister Sisulu and that the Municipality be called to account for its failures to the Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation.

The DA is committed to fight for a clean and healthy environment to ensure people are not poisoned by failing infrastructure.

Regards

Samantha Graham-Maré, MP
Dr Beyers Naude Constituency Leader

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