Only 75% of the Rooiwal plant is currently in operation, while untreated sewage flows over stagnant ponds and pollutes the underground water table. (Photo: Provided)
The years-long water crisis in the Rooiwal area will now be brought to a head by the direct entry of the FF Plus.
So says Willie Spies, FF Plus’ mayoral candidate for the Tshwane metro, after the party undertook to assist Theuns Vogel, a farmer, with legal aid in order to force the Tshwane metro to comply with a court ruling from 2019.
Spies says the core of the legal action is the metro’s continued failure to comply with the court order granted in 2019. In this order, the metro is obliged to urgently upgrade the Rooiwal water treatment plant, stop the discharge of untreated sewage into the Apies River and regularly report to the court on infrastructure progress.
Although the metro appointed a contractor for maintenance work after the verdict, the R291 million contract was already canceled in 2020, bringing the project to a standstill.
According to Spies, the raw sewage flows directly into the Apies and Krokodil rivers, with devastating consequences for the local agricultural sector. (Photo: Provided)
During a recent overview visit to the area, it was found that the situation has not improved at all since 2019.
Only 75% of the Rooiwal plant is currently in operation, while untreated sewage flows over stagnant ponds and pollutes the underground water table.
According to Spies, the raw sewage flows directly into the Apies and Krokodil rivers, with devastating consequences for the local agricultural sector.
“Vegetable farmers are forced to stop their activities and livestock farmers do not have enough safe water for their animals. In addition to the ecological disaster, residents complain that the constant stench harms their health.”
He says some farmers also find themselves in a financial trap as they cannot sell their land due to the fact that contaminated boreholes make it impossible to provide the necessary water certificates to banks or buyers.
“Meanwhile, the community remains dependent on limited and insufficient drinking water supplied by the metro. The FF Plus can no longer stand by while the Rooiwal community and farmers suffer under the Tshwane metro’s mismanagement.”
He emphasizes that this is a necessary step to force the metro to fulfill its obligations, repair the water purification works and ensure that farming can continue and residents are provided with enough clean water.