Durban — A war room was established under the leadership of the Minister of Water and Sanitation, to oversee the restoration of water supply and repairs to sewer infrastructure using the storm disaster grants that were provided to the eThekwini municipality in two tranches.
The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), eThekwini Municipality and uMngeni-uThukela Water (UUW) are working together to address the water challenges.
This was revealed when ActionSA’s Alan Beesley, in parliamentary written questions, asked the Cogta and Tourism ministers about what their departments were doing to address the sewage crisis in eThekwini which has led to the closure of beaches and the collapse of the hospitality industry.
Beesley asked that considering the failure of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality to address the sewage crisis which has led to the closure of beaches in eThekwini and the collapse of the hospitality industry to the point where the 7.9 million annual tourist visits in 2015 have declined to 800 000 annual tourist visits in 2023. Given the impact upon the constitutional rights of the residents of eThekwini to health, dignity and a clean environment, what assistance is his department providing to address the specified crisis?
In response, Cogta Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa confirmed that a war room has been established. Hlabisa said progress is being made in restoring the six wastewater treatment works which were damaged during the floods of April 2022.
“The city is spending over R500 million to restore the Northern Wastewater Treatment Works. A large part of (the) pump stations and the sewer networks have been repaired. Council further approved an allocation of R81 million for sewer network repairs and noted that the full allocation required for this is R312 million.”
Hlabisa also said the municipality was working on further budget reprioritisation to complete the remaining work.
Hlabisa said a Presidential Working Group (PWG),approved by the council in April 2023, had been established to support the metro in implementing its turnaround strategy.
Hlabisa explained that the PWG established eight workstreams. The workstream two focuses on water and sanitation chaired by the DWS. Hlabisa said that workstream two progress is closely monitored.
Furthermore, the metro also appointed uMngeni-uThukela Water to operate and maintain 10 out of its 27 wastewater treatment works. These 10 treatment works constitute about 90% of the total sewage that the city handles.
“Good progress is being made in improving (the) performance of these works,” Hlabisa said.
In a similar question, posed to Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille, Beesley asked what steps her department was taking to address the crisis.
De Lille first noted the importance of distinguishing between the functions and mandates of the various national and provincial departments and local governments.
She said tourism is a concurrent function with clear roles and responsibilities for each sphere of government.
“The management of water resources and infrastructure is the competency of the relevant local municipality, the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the relevant Water Boards. Sewerage spills and water pollution, although they impact tourism facilities, are addressed by these competent authorities. Beaches fall within the responsibility of local government,” De Lille said.
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