The civil rights organisation AfriForum on 29 July 2021 supported the community of Frankfort in an urgent court application against the Mafube Local Municipality with regards to the illegal spillage of sewage. This application was successful and the Free State High Court in Bloemfontein granted an interdict against the municipality, as well as far-reaching legal aid in favour of the community.
According to Chris Morgan, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Highland, the court ordered that any sewage spillage that specifically affects the Wilge River must be prevented. The municipality must also take water samples at the sewage works and make the results available to the community.
The order furthermore determines that the municipality needs to perform the necessary maintenance and repairs on the sewage systems, regularly do inspections of the works and promptly handle any operational crises at the works without unnecessary delay. In order to prevent further interruptions in the power supply to the works, it was instructed that the municipality must pay its Eskom accounts on time.
The municipality is also forced to supply the applicant’s attorneys with a report every two weeks for a period of six months regarding the progress and should they fail to perform their duties in terms of the court order, the applicant will have the right to again approach the court for further mitigation.
“The municipality acknowledged that they are aware of their constitutional obligation to prevent sewage spillage and maintain the system. The community was nevertheless compelled to approach the court as a result of sewage entering the Wilge River for weeks on end. The fact that the municipality must report to the community bimonthly for the next six months regarding the progress in terms of the court order simply confirms the important reviewing role of communities when it comes to municipal service delivery,” says Morgan further.
Morgan adds that the urgent court order that was obtained was a big breakthrough for the community of Frankfort seeing as it is essential for the community to obtain interim mitigation whilst the main service delivery application is still pending in court.
“AfriForum is proud of the fact that we were able to support the community to mitigate this issue. Illegal sewage spillage not only contains a health risk for the community, but the damage it causes to the environment and important eco systems is unacceptable.”
AfriForum would like to encourage community members to become involved with their nearest AfriForum branch to subsequently place pressure on the authorities to perform the duties they have toward the community. Join today: SMS “Riool” to 45344 (R1).