Three criminal charges have been made against the Matjhabeng Local Municipality at the Virginia Police Station. In addition to these woes, Matjhabeng has been placed under administration.
The determination of a Virginia resident, Kevin Ostermeyer, to have the extreme sewage problems in Saaiplaas addressed, has paid off.
On 4 February, the Free State Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) laid a criminal charge against the municipality in terms of the Water Act. The DWS’ case states contravention of section 151 of the national Water Act.
Ostermeyer says that Nkhumeleni Musekene, director of Water Regulation at the DWS, confirmed the charge.
“He stated in an email to me that the DWS has done everything within its power to get the municipality to comply.”
Ostermeyer has been fighting an uphill battle since 2023 concerning 28 Mimosa Street in Saaiplaas, Virginia.
He has, in this time, actively engaged with the Human Rights Commission (HRC), the DWS, and the Matjhabeng Municipality in a desperate attempt to have the sewage issues addressed.
Ostermeyer says the residents at 28 Mimosa Street have already lost a family member as a direct result of the sewage.
A young woman contracted tuberculosis (TB) and died from the effect of the disease a mere three months later. Ostermeyer fears for the health and life of the youngest child at this address, who has also contracted TB.
He says Veronica Sotenjwa, ANC councillor of ward 8, has done nothing for these residents who have been plagued by raw sewage spillages for a period of more than 11 years.
“Given that the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in Bloemfontein treated this matter in a very mediocre manner, I then took an informed decision to contact Musekene of the DWS in Bloemfontein who did a site meeting with me along with his colleague, Zoleka Mathiso, on Friday, 24 January.”
On Tuesday 11 February, Hansie du Plessis, Virginia resident and DA councillor, laid two criminal charges against Matjhabeng; one according to the Water Act and the other according to the Environmental Act.
The DWS is the first plaintiff in these cases, and Du Plessis the second plaintiff.
He says the Virginia sewage fiasco started on 11 February 2022, when the main sewer works were vandalised by armed robbers.
He says he has reported the pollution of the Sand River to the municipality on numerous occasions. All of Virginia’s sewage has been flowing into the river system since before 2023.
The fourth whammy was the announcement that the Matjhabeng Local Municipality had been placed under administration by the provincial ANC executive council.
An informed source told Vista, however, that previous studies have highlighted that Section 139 interventions have generally failed to address governance challenges, and administrators usually do worse than the municipal officials.
“The centralisation of power to a few administrators, that might be deemed as cadre deployment, and the limitation of oversight by elected councillors, creates the perfect condition for the misuse of power and resources,” he told Vista.
He says it cannot be ignored that a lot of factionalism is played out at municipal level, and sometimes individuals might be appointed to positions not to solve municipal problems, but rather to strengthen factions.
Tshediso Tlali, Matjhabeng spokesperson, says a contractor has been appointed in Mimosa Street.
“They have begun line investigations using closed circuit television (CCTV) technology to accurately determine the root cause of the issue before proceeding with excavation.
“Over the weekend, blockages in Marico Avenue and Qolora were successfully cleared; however, a new obstruction has since developed further upstream in Marico.”
