The DA calls for the immediate arrest of the municipal manager and officials of the Mokgalakwena Local Municipality implicated in the ongoing pollution of the Dorps River and other water sources.
During an oversight in August 2022, we exposed pollution of the environment and critical water sources by the local authority and subsequently laid criminal charges.
The DA further informed the Minister on Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Barbara Creecy, who dispatched Environmental Management Inspectors to investigate the long-standing pollution; these inspectors also laid criminal charges against the delinquent officials.
Last week, the DA again conducted an oversight to the affected areas and found the situation unchanged (see photos here and here).
Raw sewer still flows freely into the Dorps River at the corner of Dudu Madisha Street and De Klerk Street and at the corner of Dudu Madisha Street and Rufus Seakamela Street.
The DA will report these latest findings to Minister Creecy and insist that her department actively engage to put an end to the pollution and hold those responsible to account.
We will further submit questions for a written response to the Mogalakwena Local Municipality to probe their persistent negligence in this matter, and we will follow up with the SAPS to determine why arrests have not been made.
The communities of Mokgalakwena have the right to live in an environment free from pollution, and we will not let up until those responsible are held accountable.
