The FF Plus has requested the mayor of the Tshwane metro council, Randall Williams, and the Gauteng MEC for infrastructure development, Tasneem Motara, to urgently speed up the repair and upgrade of the Rooiwal sewage treatment plant north of Pretoria to prevent further pollution.
With an overview visit to the plant, the FF Plus also discussed the matter with farmers in the area.
According to surrounding livestock and crop farmers, there has been no significant improvement to combat sewage pollution since the first phase of the plant’s upgrade.
Crop farmers are still unable to plant crops on certain parts of their farms due to the pollution of soil and groundwater.
Farmers in the area have already filed court cases against the Tshwane metro in 2016 and 2019, requesting that the metro urgently pay attention to the maintenance and repair of the plant to stop the deterioration of the Vastfontein area.
The recovery process began in June and is expected to last until the third quarter of next year. The associated costs will amount to an estimated R2.1 billion.
Meanwhile, unprocessed sewage and sludge flow into farm dams, rivers and over surrounding farmland.
Farmers rely on unpolluted water and land to run their businesses successfully. It is the metro’s responsibility to ensure that sewage plants are maintained and upgraded in a timely manner to prevent pollution of the environment.
The FF Plus will monitor the situation at the Rooiwal plant and hold the metro responsible for any losses that farmers may suffer due to the pollution.
Read the original article in Afrikaans by Kobus Hoffman on FF Plus
