Raw sewage continues to flow down a street next to St Helena Primary School in Welkom, despite two court orders and promises from municipal officials to address the situation.

The sewage stream runs past the school gate, creating health risks for pupils and preventing access to the Checkers Shopping Centre in St Helena from the Unicor-road side. The road is covered with bushes and branches, while potholes damage vehicles.

At a mayoral imbizo held in Ward 33 in April this year, the municipality agreed that urgent intervention was needed. The Director of Infrastructure promised that work would begin that same month, but no action has been taken.

In April 2025, the High Court found that Matjhabeng Local Municipality and Lejweleputswa District Municipality had failed to meet constitutional and statutory obligations to provide adequate sanitation at the St Helena Checkers site. In November 2025, the acting municipal manager of Matjhabeng and the municipal manager from Lejweleputswa appeared in court regarding the ongoing situation.

The Department of Water and Sanitation stated in a written reply dated 12 March 2025 that no progress had been made on the implementation of representations submitted by Matjhabeng Local Municipality in response to a notice of intention to issue a directive in terms of Section 19(3) of the National Water Act.

Ward 33 councillor Coreen Malherbe has reported the matter to provincial authorities and requested an urgent intervention and site visit by provincial and government institutions.

The Democratic Alliance in Matjhabeng said it would continue to hold the municipality accountable to comply with the court orders.