Philani Mavundla joins ActionSA in eThekwini sewage spills case

Former eThekwini deputy mayor Philani Mavundla has joined ActionSA's effort to compel the city and other government departments to solve the sewage crisis in the city.

On Tuesday ActionSA provincial leader and councillor in the eThekwini municipality Zwakele Mncwango made the announcement with ABC’s Mavundla.

Mncwango said Mavundla will bolster the litigation process.

“Having been the chairperson of the infrastructure committee of the metro, we believe councillor PG Mavundla will be an asset to the litigation against the city as he has a wealth of understanding of the state of infrastructural decay in eThekwini, and what has led to the crisis that continues to persist nine months later,”  he said.

The case is expected to be heard next week.

Mncwango said the metro has failed to repair and replace sewerage infrastructure, resulting in the spillage of raw sewage into rivers which lead to the ocean, poisoning the environment.

He emphasised an invitation was extended to all entities who have been vocal about the sewage crisis in eThekwini to join ActionSA as friends of the court.

“We are pleased the ABC has heeded our call and we can work collaboratively to address this ensuing catastrophe in the interests of the people of eThekwini and its surrounds who continue to have businesses, homes and health compromised as a result of the ANC government,” said Mncwango.

Mavundla berated mayor Mxolisi “Mapiano” Kaunda for presiding over a municipality whose infrastructure has “crumbled to total dysfunction”. To illustrate his claim, Mavundla provided the following statistics:

• during the financial year 2018/2019, about R968m worth of water was lost, which equates to 36.85%;
• during the 2019/2020 fiscal year, R1.7bn water was lost, which equates to 51.08%;
• during the 2020/2021 fiscal year, R1.8bn water was lost, or 47.63%; and
• between 2021 and May 2022, R1.6bn water was lost, or 55.04%.

“Had it not been wasted, the money could have built 24,737 houses in eThekwini, providing much-needed housing for the people of this city,” he said.

“The above is what I have learnt as a chairperson of human settlements and infrastructure.”

Mavundla said ANC governance “failures” in eThekwini were the reason his party, the ABC, has decided to support ActionSA in their court bid.

His goal is to “place before a judge the facts of what has transpired at eThekwini”.

According to ActionSA, the metro has 27 wastewater treatment works, of which 24 do not have operating licences, 17 have been run into the ground, and two are no longer reported on as mechanical and electrical equipment is no longer functional.

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