Media statement 1 November 2023
Cllr Cilliers Brink
Executive Mayor of Tshwane
I welcome the report of the Public Protector into the Hammanskraal water crisis and commit to the remedial actions that have been ordered. As I have said at the outset of my term of office, the dysfunctionality of Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant is a stain on the conscience of the City, including various administrations.
The Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant is hydraulically and organically overloaded, so it pollutes the Apies River and the downstream water supply. If the plant had been upgraded in the first decade of this century, as the City’s masterplan recommended in 2004, then enormous expense and suffering might have been avoided.
While the City cannot change what happened in the past, we can learn from it and take responsibility for redressing the problem. The remedial actions ordered by the Public Protector accords with what the City has already undertaken in partnership with the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS). That partnership agreement is being monitored by the Mayoral Committee, and a full report in compliance with the Public Protector remedial actions will be tabled at the municipal Council before the end of this month.
The City has allocated R450 million towards upgrading Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant over a three-year period. This includes R150 million spread over each financial year. Priority will be given to finalise Phase 1 upgrades and to initiate Phase 2 upgrades.
Our partnership with the DWS will be essential to our success, as will the continued funding of capital projects by the national government. As previously communicated, the Development Bank of South Africa will act as an independent implementing agent and on our part as the City we maintain that no companies implicated in corruption or in state capture are awarded any tenders.
We must now all work together to provide a long-lasting solution for the benefit of the people of Hammanskraal. The City will study the further particulars of the report and ensure that we deliver on our promise to the people of Hammanskraal.
Media enquiries: Sipho Stuurman