Cape Town - A collapsing bulk sewerage network has caused a ‘sewage lake’ to form outside Kimberly, and will require R5 billion to overhaul the network, according to the Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul.
On Friday Public Protector Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane and Deputy Public Protector Adv. Kholeka Gcaleka met with the Northern Cape’s Premier Saul to ascertain how the provincial government will address the sewage lake roughly 10km from Kimberly along the R31 in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, Public Protector spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said.
The sewage lake was caused by the city’s ageing and collapsing bulk sewage network.
“According to Premier Saul, the network will require an estimated R5 billion to overhaul,” Segalwe reveals.
The sewage lake has reportedly claimed the life of one person after a driver of a delivery van lost control of the vehicle and plunged into the ‘lake’.
In two weeks, Mkhwebane will receive a detailed report on how the provincial government will tackle this issue.
And the community of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality was urged to not flush items such as nappies down their drains as a way to take care of the bulk sewage infrastructure.
Mkhwebane visited the lake when she arrived in the city on Thursday, prior to the meeting on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) provincial office in Kimberley has 146 open investigations - of which 114 are service delivery related.
“The office has observed increasing cases of irregular staff appointments; irregular allocations of ERFs and issuing title deeds; and irregular awarding of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment,” the PPSA spokesperson added.
Mkhwebane and Gcaleka now turn their focus to KwaZulu-Natal, the next destination in PPSA’s national roadshow.
IOL