Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni, announced during his inaugural Medium Term Budget Policy Statement that President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Minister of Defence, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, have agreed to have the military assist with engineering and other expertise to help fix the problem. Mboweni says Treasury is dealing decisively and urgently with the water crisis. He explained that they will be doing this by mobilising short-term financing by reprioritising funds and increasing capacity. The newly appointed Finance Minister stresses that “water is critical and that current water delivery models are not working in many cases”.

The pollution of the Vaal River has in recent months reached crisis levels, with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) probing the matter and urging all relevant stakeholders to work together to remedy the situation. 

These stakeholders include the Gauteng Provincial Government, the Emfuleni Local Municipality, which was placed under administration in May and the Department of Water and Sanitation, amongst others. 

OFM News previously reported that the pollution at the Vaal River dates back over a decade, with Emfuleni Municipality being blamed primarily for the crisis. 

Save the Vaal explained that the complete breakdown of the sanitation system at the ailing Emfuleni Local Municipality has resulted in raw sewage spilling into the Vaal River from several points. Vice Chairperson of Save the Vaal, Maureen Stewart, was adamant the pollution is not only an environmental disaster, but is a health risk for people coming into contact with the contaminated water. She says farmers in the area use the water to irrigate their crops and animals drink the water. She explains that domestic drinking water at Emfuleni is safe to drink because it comes from the Vaal dam, but the water in the neighbouring Free State town, Parys – under Ngwathe Local Municipality – is not entirely safe for consumption.

OFM News