Johannesburg - ActionSA has accused the DA’s former Tshwane mayor Randall Williams of refusing to account for the R295 million water crisis, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 23 people in Hammanskraal.
Last week, the party lodged complaints against the city and its former mayor, with the public protector and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). This complaint stems from the alleged failure to act over the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant (RWTP), which has led to the current cholera outbreak.
The outbreak has claimed 24 lives, with one of the deaths reported in the Free State.
The party’s regional chairperson in Tshwane, Jackie Mathabathe, said more city officials have been fingered in the water crisis, adding that the party was prepared to work with current mayor Cilliers Brink to contain the problem.
"It is ActionSA’s belief that the current cholera outbreak, which has killed 23 people in Hammanskraal, is possibly directly linked to the fact that the RWTP is dysfunctional, which both Williams and the City of Tshwane have failed to address," Mathabathe said.
The party has called for the cancellation of irregular tenders, which have caused the cholera outbreak.
"If Williams and the city had not delayed the cancellation of the irregular RWTP tender and delayed the implementation of an investigation report, the current cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal could, in all likelihood, have been avoided."
"Following the contract’s cancellation, ActionSA requested that the contract be investigated, and Williams delayed submitting the report to the council for three months despite repeated requests from ActionSA to table the report so we could begin to deal with Hammanskraal’s water issues meaningfully," Mathabathe said.
In 2021, the party launched an independent commission of inquiry into water quality, which fingered high-ranking officials in the matter.
Mathabathe said the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) agreed to investigate corruption at the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant after the party handed over its report on the matter.
The report called on a motion for the city to investigate the tender processes involved in Hammanskraal.
It also lobbied for the city council to ensure that the city manager implements the recommendations of the city investigation report and that Municipal Public Accounts Committees (MPAC) monitor the implementation of the report.
"ActionSA hopes that the public protector and SAHRC will speedily investigate our concerns in this regard to ensure that the community of Hammanskraal gets the justice they deserve after repeatedly being let down," Mathabathe said.
The commission’s final report, which uncovered blatant irregularities in awarding the R295m City of Tshwane tender to fix the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Plant, was handed over to Williams in August 2021.
"Williams and the City of Tshwane further neglected the Hammanskraal water crisis by ignoring ActionSA’s submissions for the City to prioritise the Hammanskraal water issue; decreasing the budget allocated to the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Plant; and delaying the tabling of the investigation report to the council by three months," he said.
"In 2021, the commission asked Williams to present himself on one of the three days of hearings to give an account as to what steps have been taken to resolve this long-standing problem that remains in violation of the people of Hammanskraal’s rights."
The Star