DA to intensify monitoring of GBV cases in Upington
| by Andrew Louw – DA Northern Cape Provincial Leader |
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| Date: 14 October 2019 |
| Release: Immediate |
| The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape is offering to bring a team of experts from the DA-run City of Cape Town to Kimberley, to assess the city’s dysfunctional Homevale Waste Water Treatment Plant (HWWTP) and assist the municipality in getting the plant functioning at full capacity.This comes amidst concerns that the HWWTP, which is intended to process the bulk of the city’s wastewater, is completely dysfunctional, has not been operational since August last year and remains a ticking time bomb.Earlier this year, I visited the HWWTP together with Western Cape Minister of Local Government, Anton Bredell, and DA Sol Plaatje Councillors. At the time, empty ponds were filled with knee-high levels of fermenting muck.Crusts had formed over sewage that had clearly been stagnant for an extended period of time. Bubbling, fermenting sewage could be seen in certain ponds. One pond had turned an extraordinary pink colour, that raised serious alarm bells. And the dams meant to be filled with clean, purified water were only filled with a hard layer of muck that had plants growing in it. Raw sewage was also flowing into the veld at the back of the sewage purification plant.It is only logical to assume that the situation is by now much worse. The question, however, is how long can the current situation, which poses health and safety risks to workers as well as the greater Kimberley community, continue before disaster strikes?Based on our past oversight inspection, it is clear that not only is there a lack of expertise to ensure that the plant is properly run but also that it is a daily struggle for staff working at the plant to perform their duties. In this regard, an over-bureaucratic system prevents basic supplies, such as chemicals and safety equipment, from being ordered. In effect, permanent staff refuse to perform certain duties because it is too hazardous.The irony, however, is that the plant has the ideal infrastructure for a well-run waste works set-up, which if utilized correctly, could see it transformed into a first-class plant.I will therefore personally write to Mayor Patrick Mabilo, offering the DA’s assistance, which would see us bringing a team of engineers from Cape Town to evaluate the situation and devise a plan to get the plant back on track.The DA is indeed committed to becoming an agent of change and working together with government to improve the lives of all our people. We therefore hope that Mabilo takes us up on our offer before the effects of the sewerage crisis spills over into the everyday lives of Kimberley residents, as have the effects of the ongoing water crisis. |
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