Water and Sanitation Minister, Senzo Mchunu, has lambasted the Moqhaka Municipality in the Free State for delays in fixing the waste water treatment plant at Kroonstad.
Authorities say about R60 million is needed to fix the treatment plant which has not been operational for over a year.
The Moqhaka municipality has set aside R10 million for an interim solution.
Government has already spent R22 million to refurbish the plant.
Mchunu and his entourage visited the area to assess the extent of the pollution on the Vaal River system.
“Let us go and work, madoda [men]. Mayor you need to change your style of leadership. I can tell you that you are young, you can’t be associated with things that are not working when you [are] new.”
“You have just been installed … is neither here nor there. The issue is we are causing hazard and it is an untold problem to the environment, to everybody else and it’s not permissible,” adds Minister Mchunu.
Meanwhile, earlier on Friday, Deputy President David Mabuza said dysfunctional municipalities were to blamed for failures in delivering services and for crumbling infrastructure.
Mabuza, who is also African National Congress (ANC) deputy president, visited the Northern Cape to assess the contamination of the Vaal River from sewage and other sources.
The quality of local government services will be a key factor for voters during the local government elections on November 1st.
Deputy President David Mabuza visits Northern Cape, Free State to assess Vaal River System:
