Had Tshwane implemented recommendations of a report from its infrastructure department more than a decade ago — upgrading the Rooiwal wastewater treatment works would have cost them R3bn less than what it is costing now.
Tshwane, in partnership with the department of water and sanitation and Magalies Water, will roll out a R4bn multi-phase project to upgrade one of the main sources of Hammanskraal water.
The Rooiwal plant was battling to treat the water that goes into the Apies River, leading to raw sewerage getting into the river which feeds into the Leeukraal Dam, a source of water for Hammanskraal.
Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink told TimesLIVE Premium that the upgrading of Rooiwal is contained in the city’s 2004 Master Plan document, which indicated that the plant was nearing its capacity.
“If Rooiwal was upgraded in the 2000s, it would have been relatively affordable compared to now where you’ve had population growth and deterioration of infrastructure,” Brink said.
A report, which TimesLIVE Premium has seen, that was served before the mayoral committee during mayor Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s tenure in 2011, in which the city was told that the Rooiwaal wastewater treatment works plant had reached its full capacity, was ignored.
The report, titled Improvement of the water quality in the Hammanskraal area acceleration of programme, was tabled before the mayoral committee and approved on November 16 2011.
The report estimated the upgrade would have cost about R980m in four financial years between 2011/12 and 2014/15.
The report, drafted by then Tshwane head of infrastructure development Lefadi Makibinyane proposed that the project to upgrade Rooiwal be undertaken in phases.
“Improvement in the raw water quality will result from the upgrade and extension of the Rooiwal wastewater treatment works. There are compelling reasons to accelerate the upgrade of Rooiwal, even without considering the raw water input into the Temba water treatment plant,” the report stated.
The report also stated budgetary constraints as a challenge confronting the city.
Brink said the 2000s saw the country, not just Tshwane, focusing largely on building new massive infrastructure projects as opposed to upgrading existing ones such as Rooiwal, which he said “successive governments” failed to deal with.
“Rooiwal has stayed in the conscience of Tshwane and successive administrations. As to why it was not prioritised, the 2000s generally across the country was a time for show projects and building new things instead of replenishing of existing infrastructure as that wasn’t provocative or politically attractive,” Brink said.
Brink, who was a councillor when the report for the accelerated programme to upgrade Rooiwal was presented to the capital’s mayoral committee, said existing infrastructure was ignored, including other wastewater plans such as the one in Bronkhorstspruit.
He said the city has now set aside R450m in the next three financial years to attend to the Rooiwal upgrade project.
Brink said this was the biggest ever budget allocation set aside by the city to Rooiwal. However, he warned there were still risks as he did not completely trust the supply chain management processes.
“We need to put pressure on everyone involved ... the pattern of failure (in addressing the issue) needs to be broken,” Brink said.
Failures at the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plants led to water with high concentrations of nitrates getting into the Apies River and severely polluted the water which got to the Temba water treatment works in a bad state, not meeting water quality standards.
Hammanskraal is now the epicentre of the cholera outbreak in the country, which has claimed more than two dozen lives.
The SA Human Rights Commission has had to intervene in the Hammanskraal water crisis, and conducted tests with the help of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which found that tap water in the area was not safe for human consumption in 2019.
Makibinyane, who left Tshwane in 2013, told TimesLIVE Premium the city has always been aware of the Rooiwal plant capacity, however, “it’s a survival of the fittest when it comes to fighting for budget allocations”.
“People tend to undermine some of the critical issues on the basis of budgeting,” Makibinyane said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited Hammanskraal on Thursday, said government “dropped the ball” in addressing the water challenges in the area.
“We have really dropped the ball for our people here ... it’s going to cost R4bn just to revamp, expand the Rooiwal water works, and it will take up to three years,” Ramaphosa stated.
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