The Ward 30 Neighbourhood Watch in Thabong, Welkom, has called for a dedicated health protection component to be built into the R4 billion sanitation intervention announced for the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, warning that infrastructure repairs alone will not address the long-term damage caused by years of sewage spillages.
Chairperson Pogisho Mholo is urging ring-fenced funding for health screenings, environmental recovery, and household support following the executive mayor’s fortnightly Imbizo in ward 30 on Thursday 9 April.
Speaking after the meeting, Mholo said the community welcomes the funding commitment from the National Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), and National Treasury as announced by Cllr Thanduxolo Khalipha, executive mayor.
However, he stressed that residents need more than engineering solutions.
“The issue goes far beyond pipes, pumps, and treatment plants. Residents, especially children and the elderly in Matjhabeng, have lived for years with toxic odours, contaminated water, and polluted yards.
“The question is, how much of this money has been specifically set aside to address the long-term health implications?” Mholo said.
The neighbourhood watch warns that prolonged exposure to sewage pollution places residents at risk of respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis (TB)-related complications, skin infections, stomach diseases, and long-term environmental health conditions.
Mholo said households where sewerage has surrounded entire yards require urgent medical support, environmental clean-up, and ongoing monitoring by community health workers.
The organisation is calling for the Department of Health to be formally integrated into the five-year sanitation project, with specific programmes for household health screenings, collection of samples linked to TB and respiratory illnesses, medical referrals, hygiene education, preventative health interventions, and environmental rehabilitation.
“It would be irresponsible for the entire R4 billion to be depleted on infrastructure whilst the human cost of sewage pollution is ignored. We cannot repair the system and leave the people exposed to the damage already done,” Mholo said.
The neighbourhood watch has warned that failure to address the health consequences now could expose the municipality to future civil claims from affected residents, particularly from ward 30, drawing comparisons to public health liability matters concerning asbestos that have previously emerged in the Free State.
According to Mholo, the executive mayor responded positively to the concerns raised and undertook to bring the matter to the attention of the Department of Health in order to develop a long-term mitigation strategy.
The Ward 30 Neighbourhood Watch has welcomed this commitment and says it will continue to monitor whether health funding is ring-fenced alongside infrastructure spending.
In the coming days, the Ward 30 Neighbourhood Watch will launch a community petition calling on residents across Thabong and the broader Matjhabeng area to sign in support of ring-fenced funding for household health screenings, medical referrals, environmental rehabilitation, and preventative health interventions, ensuring that the human impact of sewage pollution is treated with the same urgency as the infrastructure crisis, Mholo said.
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