DA celebrates landmark court victory against eThekwini Municipality over sewage pollution crisis
The DA has succeeded in its legal action to compel the eThekwini Municipality to take action to deal with sewage pollution impact on Durban's beaches.
Image: Doctor Ngcobo
The DA has welcomed and celebrated the judgment of the Pietermaritzburg High Court which has ordered the eThekwini Municipality to take certain measures to tackle the sewage pollution affecting the city's beaches and other water bodies.
The DA and ActionSA had taken the municipality to court, accusing it of failing to address sewage pollution that had led to the closure of the city's beaches and had polluted other water sources.
In a statement, DA eThekwini mayoral candidate Haniff Hoosen said: “The DA was forced to approach the court after the Municipality showed no willingness or ability to end the sewage disaster, which has repeatedly closed beaches, degraded the quality of life for residents across the city, and inflicted financial harm on businesses.
“For far too long, the political leadership of eThekwini has taken the public for granted and has been ignoring the scores of complaints regarding sewer overflows into our rivers and oceans,” it said.
The party added that every attempt to secure reasonable and urgent mitigating measures from the municipality has been ignored, leaving them with no other option but to force the municipality to do what it is legally obligated to do.
“The DA remains committed to ensuring that the sewer crisis is completely eradicated and will continue to do everything in our power to restore our city to a safe and healthy living environment,” it concluded.
ActionSA also welcomed the ruling however it noted that the court had only dealt with the relief sought by the DA, with judgment in its own matter yet to be handed down.
ActionSA KZN leader Zwakele Mncwango said: “ActionSA welcomes the Pietermaritzburg High Court’s judgment, marking a victory in our legal battle to hold the eThekwini Municipality and the implicated government departments accountable for the devastating sewage crisis.”
Mncwango added, “In November 2022, ActionSA initiated legal action against the eThekwini Municipality, with the DA only joining in June 2023, opportunistically dovetailing onto ActionSA’s fight after we had identified clear and sustained violations of residents’ constitutionally enshrined rights to a safe and healthy environment, as well as their right to economic development.
“As ActionSA has consistently argued, the eThekwini Municipality must comply with its legal obligations to repair and upgrade the severely dilapidated sewer infrastructure at the heart of this disaster, which has had devastating consequences for the city, its economy, and its residents,” the leader concluded.
ActionSA is proud to have led this fight from the start on behalf of the residents of eThekwini, compelling the municipality to end its shocking indifference to this crisis.