I today visited the community of Hammanskraal, where untreated run-off from the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) continues to pollute farmlands as well as the Apies River, placing the community at risk.
The Rooiwal plant is a prime example of how the ANC government in the City of Tshwane has mismanaged the City’s service delivery infrastructure at the expense of the health and wellbeing of its residents. This while billions have been lost to unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
DA Shadow Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Leon Basson MP, visited the plant on three occasions last year to perform oversight over the facility.
On his first visit in July 2015, Basson witnessed 104.8 million litres of untreated sewage spilling into the Apies River on a daily basis.
As a result of the non-functioning of the sludge plant, sewage sludge is being pumped straight onto adjacent farmlands that drain into a large wetland. Methane gas could be seen burning on the farmlands while sludge pools in the Apies River, and boreholes adjacent to the Apies River, were polluted with E.coli.
Subsequent visits in October and December revealed that nothing had changed. And almost a year later, I can confirm that the situation remains dire. In spite of the condition of the plant, the City has done nothing to address the situation.
A total of R1.5 billion in capital expenditure is now required to overhaul the dysfunctional Rooiwal WWTW, but only R1.55 billion has been allocated to the whole Water and Sanitation Department over the next three years. This is a fraction of what is needed to ensure that the residents of Tshwane have access to safe, drinkable water on an ongoing basis.
While, many informal communities, rural households, and backyard dwellers are still without access to quality water from reliable water pipes, R1.8 billion was lost by the ANC government in Tshwane to unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in the last financial year alone.
The ANC in Tshwane does not care about quality of life of its residents, and instead work only to enrich themselves.
DA-run municipalities are committed to maintaining and renewing infrastructure to protect our residents and ensure the uninterrupted provision of essential services. And it is committed to providing access to safe and drinkable water for those who have been waiting for too long.
As Mayor I will prioritise essential capital projects that will boost service delivery in water, sanitation and electricity supply, to enhance infrastructure service delivery across the whole City.
A DA government in Tshwane will bring the change that this City needs; change that will move it forward again.
Solly Msimanga
DA Mayoral Candidate: Tshwane
![[IMAGE SOURCE]](http://da-gpl.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Rooiwal.png){kind=link}