A report released by Maluleke on Wednesday 31 May 2023, states municipalities – including the Mangaung Metro and Ngwathe, Metsimaholo, Moqhaka, and Matjhabeng Local Municipalities – are not complying with the Department of Water and Sanitation's Green Drop report of April 2022.  Maluleke said these municipalities also failed to take reasonable measures to prevent pollution or degradation of the adjacent environment or water resources.

OFM News previously reported that pictures and videos of what appeared to be contaminated water coming from the taps of residents in Deneysville in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality did rounds on social media platforms. These pictures and videos depicted what seemed to be brownish sludge coming out of the taps of residents. Water issues have become synonymous in the Free State.

ALSO READ: Videos, and pictures of contaminated water in FS Municipality surface

OFM News previously reported that stranded residents of Tumahole in the Parys-based Ngwathe Local Municipality were at some stage forced to fetch water from sewage manholes.

ALSO READ: Free State Residents 'forced to fetch water from manholes'

A similar situation also besieged residents of the troubled Theunissen-based Masilonyana Local Municipality where residents had spent days without drinking water and were ultimately forced to fetch water from small water streams and pipes.

Recently the Department of Health in the province confirmed eight cases of cholera in various towns in the province.

On 24 May 2023, Health spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi reported that two more cases of cholera were detected in Parys in Tumahole. This is where residents were forced to drink water from manholes or small river streams.

"There are now two new cases of people who tested positive for cholera from Parys. They have received appropriate medical care from the Parys Hospital and have been discharged".

"Unfortunately a 33-year-old female from Vredefort has died in the Parys Hospital. These three new cases bring the total number of positive cholera cases to eight, if you add the original six cases that we had in Vredefort and discount the person that died.

ALSO READ: Six confirmed cases of cholera in the Free State

The water issues continue despite municipalities having met with Premier Mxolisi Dukwana earlier this year about the water issues which at most leaves residents disgruntled and frustrated.

ALSO READ: ‘It won’t be business as usual’ – Free State premier

In this 14-page report, Maluleke said her office has raised audit findings on wastewater treatment plants in most of the municipalities it audited, including two municipalities with disclaimed audit opinions.

The audits also confirmed that neglected municipal infrastructure and ineffective environmental management led to polluted water sources, including underground water, and revealed an unacceptable state of the management of wastewater treatment plants.

“In our previous general report, we reported that we had notified the municipal manager of the Maluti-a-Phofung Local Municipality (Free State) of material irregularities at four of its sites, and the municipal manager of Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality (North West) of material irregularities at three of its sites.

By 15 February 2023, we had issued notifications to various municipal managers of 24 material irregularities related to their wastewater treatment plants, with more to follow.”

She says at nine (56%) of the municipalities selected for auditing, the audit teams found that wastewater discharged at wastewater treatment plants did not comply with waste standards and practices (per the Department of Water and Sanitation's Green Drop report of April 2022).

Reasonable measures were also not taken to prevent pollution or degradation of the adjacent environment or water resources at 11 (69%) of the selected municipalities.

"These municipalities are Mangaung Metro and Ngwathe, Metsimaholo, Moqhaka, and Matjhabeng Local Municipalities in the Free State and Kgatelopele Local Municipality in the Northern Cape.

“These shortcomings harmed the communities using the water every day for drinking and washing, and the farmers using the water for irrigation and for their livestock.

The situation at some of these municipalities is well known and has been the subject of investigations by the South African Human Rights Commission and of court cases, but little has been done to rectify the problems.

As a water-scarce country, South Africa must protect its water resources, both by managing pollution at the source and by preventing avoidable water losses due to ageing infrastructure that is not properly maintained,” says Maluleke.

OFM News