On Friday, 3 May 2024, the DA in Limpopo laid criminal charges against the Municipal Managers for the Musina Local Municipality (MTM) and Vhembe District Municipality (VDM) for failure to address continuous sewage spills across Musina. (See photo here)
Both MTM and VDM are the responsible authorities for the sewerage system in Musina.
The sewerage system has been plagued with serious unchecked challenges for years now and sewage is running into the Limpopo River daily.
Sewage leaks are strewn across the municipality and include:
- At the back of Renaissance School in Freedom Park there are streams of raw sewage which residents, vehicles and animals have to wade through; (See photos here and here)
- Schoonplaas has large sewage leaks and it runs next to households and all around Schoonplaas stadium; (See photos here)
- Campbell has massive sewage leaks around and in the RDP houses which caused the displacement of residents.
Residents report overflowing sewage almost on a daily basis , but both municipalities have failed to adequately address the challenges and find long-term solutions.
The sewage smell and the overflow in some areas are unbearable.
Government reportedly laid 10 charges against four Limpopo municipalities between October 2022 and November 2023 for dysfunctional sewage systems according to the latest Green Drop Report; all these cases are still under investigation.
The DA has further laid three charges recently against Maruleng, Tzaneen, Modimolle-Mookgopong municipalities for sewage spills in violation of The National Water Act 36 of 1998.
We will follow up regularly with investigating officers and prosecutors on the progress in our cases to ensure that ANC municipalities are held accountable for environmental damage to the broader community and wildlife as well as the imminent health risks these sewage leaks pose.