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JEREMY MAGGS: Let’s start with this: in a disturbing disclosure the City of Tshwane says it can only afford to spend R150 million a year towards servicing its most important wastewater treatment plant. That is a figure that I read – way less than the R2.5 billion it will need to completely turn around the quality of water in the metro.
All of this, of course, comes against the backdrop of this story – the death toll in the Hammanskraal cholera outbreak has now risen to 17.
Read:
In conversation now with Peter Sutton, who is MMC [Member of Mayoral Committee] for Finance in the metro. Mr Sutton, welcome to you. First of all, let’s look at human impact if we can, what is the position in the area this morning [Thursday]? Do you have any updates for us?
PETER SUTTON: Well, the latest update that I have [is that] they are still busy testing and determining the source of the cholera – the position has not been determined yet. Some more tests are being conducted. We are expecting more results to come out today. Most of the City of Tshwane’s entry points and water sources have been tested. They’ve all tested negatively, but until we can determine the source, we will not be able to contain this. So it’s a major concern for us and that’s an ongoing process.
JEREMY MAGGS: It is a major concern. Can you tell us who is doing the testing and any indication of how long this is going to take?
PETER SUTTON: Well, it’s the Department of Health, national department; I believe they have set up an emergency [unit] for this purpose at the Jubilee Hospital … [and] it’s not only the City of Tshwane involved in this, although the City of Tshwane is involved as well.
The results are coming out fairly quickly. I think it’s in about 24 hours, I might be speaking incorrectly, or within 48 hours.
But I do see the results coming in and they are obviously constantly on the ground trying to locate a specific area, trying to take measures, and trying to pinpoint the exact source of the cholera, which is critical.
So yes, that’s an ongoing process and it’s being done through the emergency [unit] that’s been set up in Hammanskraal as well.
JEREMY MAGGS: And difficult to say, Mr Sutton, whether the situation is being contained or not.
PETER SUTTON: It’s very difficult to say. I don’t have the latest figure of any new patients that are under observation. So that’s obviously being measured, and you can understand the complexity of the tracking that goes in with that, it’s also taking place. I think we experienced similar tracking processes happening during the Covid pandemic as well. So it’s a major concern. We don’t know where the source of the problem is as I mentioned. It’s very difficult to contain but at this point it has not been determined yet what the source is and that’s our concern.
JEREMY MAGGS: More broadly, Mr Sutton, it’s a long-term fix as far as the metro is concerned, the mayor of Tshwane saying decades of corruption to blame for this crisis.
PETER SUTTON: Absolutely, I think Mayor [Cilliers] Brink made it very clear that this is successive, or past administrations have failed in this.
But I think the mayor also made it very clear that it’s this Brink administration that is now going to resolve that and so we have allocated the substantial budget of R450 million over the next three years.
But we are also in very advanced discussions with the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Department of Water Affairs and other role players to source more funding.
Ideally, what we want, we need to complete phase one of the upgrades, but we also need to fast track phase two and phase three of the upgrades, and what we ideally want to do is see that those three phases are done concurrently, and that we can get it implemented and start seeing a plant operating at the level that it should.
JEREMY MAGGS: R450 million over the next couple of years doesn’t buy you much though, does it? It’s not going to resolve the entire problem.
PETER SUTTON: It not, but I think what we also need to understand, and I’m going to try and explain it as best as I can for you, but you have a dysfunctional plant, we know that.
We know the capacity of the plant is not up to standard. We know the mechanics of the plant to deal with the type of effluent that it gets is not sufficient.
But we also have other measures that can be implemented that will make an immediate effect. It’ll not be a hundred percent, but it’ll make a major difference.
If the dysfunctional plant can just operate at 100% capacity, that will already make an in impact. But what we are seeing is there are aspects of this plant like the distillation tanks, for instance, that are not operational. There’s an overflow dam, for instance, that is not operational at the moment.
That can [have] a major impact to control the inflow so that the system doesn’t get flooded and you have this direct inflow into the river system. The chlorine pumps, for instance, the valve presses that are not working.
These are all aspects that can be changed almost, or very quickly.
We are in the process of installing two belt presses now, and I’ve been told from engineers that if those belt presses are operational, they will already make a major impact on the quality of the water.
I think what I’m trying to say is, let’s also focus on getting this dysfunctional plant 100% functional, that will make a difference.
JEREMY MAGGS: Why did it take a cholera outbreak to alert us to how serious the problem was?
PETER SUTTON: Well, look, I think from the City of Tshwane, this has been a matter that was very important for us and that’s why the forensic investigation was initiated last year. I think what we have just realised is the slow response – the money that was put in the past – there was a contract that was found to be irregular and corrupt.
But what we have just seen has brought it to a head now that, and it’s not only – first, just to answer your question, and our sympathy and empathy again to the families who’ve lost loved ones in Hammanskraal, but we are at a stage now where we need a very strong response, it is now obviously a position where people have lost their lives and we need to determine the cause of that, and that’s going be important for us going forward.
But we need to bring this to a head now, and that’s why we are busy with these engagements and we’re using the situation to also make sure that we can appropriate the budget correctly.
In addition to that, we are doing the same exercise for all the other water and wastewater treatment plants. I think it’s important that we need to start getting the priority for our budget correct and I think we need to reprioritise our budget. One of the first line items I’m advocating for is 100% funding for operational and capital experiences for our waste and water treatment plants going forward, before we look at anything else in the budget.
JEREMY MAGGS: Are you being helped sufficiently, Mr Sutton by the National Department of Water and Sanitation? What role are they playing?
PETER SUTTON: We have been in numerous discussions with them for a long time. I visited the portfolio committee in parliament last year, I had an engagement with them as well, where we discussed [things] and yes, they are very open. I think we have a good working relationship with them.
I think one of the challenges for the Department of Water and Sanitation, obviously they’re in a similar position as we are – they are cash-strapped; they’re also in financial difficulty
But they have exceptional expertise that can assist us and, certainly, there’s no finger to point at the National Department of Water and Sanitation. They are working with us, they are completely supportive and we are engaged with them on various levels to work together to find a permanent solution to this problem.
JEREMY MAGGS: Let me ask you this question. Beyond Hammanskraal, do you believe, given the current crisis, there are other areas in the wider metro that are also in danger of cholera? If that’s the case, what are you doing?
PETER SUTTON: Well, I do think we have a major problem when it comes to wastewater treatment plants. I can just speak in my context. It’s very difficult for me to speak outside the City of Tshwane.
But I do know, for instance, in Centurion we have the Hennops River, and there’s also a major problem with pollution into the river of sewage from time to time that comes from other levels – you know, from other municipalities.
It’s unfortunately the nature of what we deal with. You know, we have the problem with Sutherland Ridge in Centurion, again, that’s affecting the North West province. So we do test our water regularly.
But I think we are at a very high risk of having similar diseases in South Africa as some of the water tests have shown – nothing has shown positive, obviously.
But if we don’t get control over the pollution of our river systems, and I can only speak to my context in terms of the Hennops River and Pienaarsrivier, those aspects, we are in a very big danger in South Africa I think.
JEREMY MAGGS: I just need a quick answer to this final question. Your biggest problem, apart from dealing with the logistics that you’ve just outlined, is depoliticising the issue. Your mayor has been chased away from the area, I believe, at a council meeting last night or the night before. You were asked by a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters yesterday to drink the water. How are you [and] how are you going to get beyond the politics bearing in mind that 17 people have lost their lives?
PETER SUTTON: Well, I think that’s exactly why we’ve taken this decision. And you asked me the question earlier:
Why have we now taken this decision to come out with the very strong response of the R450 million? It’s because we’ve taken a decision to stop the politicising of this situation, to stop the finger-pointing.
We do not want to point fingers to other political parties anymore. We want to find a solution.
And you are a hundred percent correct. While we have the political instability, while politicians are politicking around this matter, people are losing their lives.
And somewhere we need to draw the line and know that the public out there doesn’t care about politicians pointing fingers. They want solutions. So we will continue to bring that.
It’s a small group of people, and we believe it was more of a rent-a-crowd that disturbed the mayor the other day in Hammanskraal. But I believe from the support and, you know, the interactions with the people on the ground in Hammanskraal, the only thing that the residents care about is for this administration to bring a solution to the table and to restore their dignity.
And that’s what we are committed to. So we are not going to politicise this matter anymore.
JEREMY MAGGS: Peter Sutton, thank you very much.
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