Environmental health and the hydrosphere in Moqhaka Local Municipality, Free State, South Africa

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Environmental health and the hydrosphere in Moqhaka Local Municipality, Free State, South Africa

By JWN Tempelhoff, AS van Zyl, EJ Nealer, M Ginster, S Berner, IM Moeketsi, M Morotolo, A Tsotetsi, MP Radebe, K Magape, TA Qhena, R Moabelo, J Khoadi

Members of the CuDyWat research team consult a map in the Moqhaka Local Municipal area. (Photograph AS van Zyl) CuDyWat Report 2/2011. Fezile Dabi Project (FDP) Vanderbijlpark 2011.12.30 Version 1.3

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Table of Contents

Report summary ............................................................................................................................................................................ 5 About this report ............................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Background: Service delivery, municipal elections and Moqhaka Local Municipality ................................... 9 Introduction: the ‘toilet election’ ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Post-‐election Moqhaka ............................................................................................................................................................. 12 Area under investigation ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Basic geohydrological and water resource management aspects: Kroonstad ................................................ 18 Basic geohydrological and water resource management aspects of Steynsrus .............................................. 19 Municipal governance and water resources management ...................................................................................... 21 Plant visits ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Water purification plant, Steynsrus ................................................................................................................................... 29 State of the wastewater treatment service provided by Moqhaka Local Municipality ............................... 37 Kroonstad WWTW ..................................................................................................................................................................... 39 Oxidation ponds (old and new), Steynsrus ...................................................................................................................... 41 Wastewater treatment works, Viljoenskroon ................................................................................................................ 43 General information – What to expect .............................................................................................................................. 43 Vierfontein ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 44 Where did the problems start? ............................................................................................................................................. 44 Mentalities and the human condition: water and environmental health .......................................................... 58 Moqhaka Local Municipality’s hydrosphere from the perspective of environmental health .................... 62 Perceptions of political role players ................................................................................................................................... 64 Educational needs in environmental health ................................................................................................................... 81 Environmental health assessment ...................................................................................................................................... 85 Integration: the challenge for the environmental health in Moqhaka ............................................................... 87 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................................................... 92 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................................. 94

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Report summary In 2011, local elections were held in South Africa. The focus on sanitation issues in the period prior to voters going to the polls had the media labelling the event as the ‘toilet election’. Moqhaka Local Municipality came under scrutiny at the time. In the report attention is given to service delivery in the local municipality’s water sector. Members of the research group visited the local municipality’s water purification and wastewater treatment works in Moqhaka’s three urban areas of Kroonstad/Maokeng/Brent Park, Viljoenskroon/Rammulotsi, and Steynsrus/Matlwangtlwang. Attention is also given to the facilities at the small settlement of Vierfontein. Working from the 2011 Blue Drop and Green Drop reports, the team made in situ evaluations of the water supply and sewage treatment infrastructure, where a number of serious problems were identified. The objective was to come to a better understanding of the drivers, pressures and impacts of water resources management on local governance in Moqhaka – an approach outlined in the 2003 State of the Rivers Report. Although, the agricultural sector plays an important role in the Moqhaka local municipal area, the focus is aimed more specifically at the urban settlements where there is evidence of the deterioration of municipal water infrastructure. Attention is given to the historical origins of the current crisis in water service delivery. Apart from looking at issues of governance, particularly problems of municipal governance and the dual role municipalities must fill as both a water services authority and water services provider, attention is then focused on deep history. For example, it is contended that social ecological circumstances have been responsible for exacerbating the conditions of decline. Also under consideration are the drought conditions of 2004–5 and how water restrictions of 40Kℓ (currently still in force) have contributed to the collapse of effective water management. The long-standing primary reliance on rainfall, along with regional migration trends have contributed to some of the intrinsic demographic problems associated with urbanisation in the Moqhaka local municipal area. Problems in the water and sanitation sector of Moqhaka have contributed to shaping the mindsets of water services users and those who are employed in the local water sector. Working from the perspective of the history of mentalities, water users are described in terms of functioning within the framework of a mentalité de déconnexion, while water sector workers have a mindset that can be labelled a mentalité de l'idéalisme ironique. An important part of the research is focused on the status of environmental health in the hydrosphere of Moqhaka Local Municipality. To reach a better understanding of how to implement strategies and make all and sundry more aware of the imminent local crisis, the researchers collected and interpreted qualitative information on the perceptions of political role players, educationists, ordinary residents of the three urban conurbations in Moqhaka, as well as the views of municipal health officials. This provided the research team with a better understanding of how more effective governance strategies can be introduced to improve the situation. After taking note of the need for more effective law enforcement measures to instil a sense of trust in the water and sanitation services rendered by the local authority, the issue of governance at the district and local municipal level is assessed. Amongst the recommendations is the issue of the importance of environmental health practices. There should be a shift to integrated anagement systems at both district and municipal levels. This is a strategy which, if actively pursued by the municipal health officials, would make a substantial contribution to improving quality and service delivery. In the final section of the report a number of recommendations are made. These include:

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• the urgent need for the establishment of a water forum; • the development of an orderly system of integrated water resource management in Moqhaka

Local Municipality; • the development of an integrated water monitoring strategy; • attention needs to be given to volumes and quantities of water; • greater cohesion in the municipal governance structures in terms of operating as a water services

authority as well as a provider; • the need for greater discipline; • the promotion of environmental health education in all sectors of the local municipality’s

community; and • the development of strategies of communication by means of social media technology in the water

sector of Moqhaka Local Municipality.

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About this report At the beginning of 2011 the FezileDabi District Municipality in the Free State Province appointed the Research Niche for the Cultural Dynamics of Water (CuDyWat)1 at North-West University’s Vaal campus in Vanderbijlpark to conduct research on the environmental health of water in two of its local municipal areas of Mafube and Moqhaka. Work on Mafube began in February-March 2011 with the preliminary research work being concluded in August-September of the same year. In the first phase of the Mafube investigation there was collaboration with Mvula Trust, a Johannesburg-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) working in the field of water supply and sanitation in rural communities countrywide.2 The research, partially funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC), also included an investigation into the role of civil society on matters of local water governance.3 Members of CuDyWat, in collaboration with a number of NGOs participated in the writing of the report. CuDyWat will however continue to be active in Mafube for the next three years. The second focus of CuDyWat’s research in FezileDabi District Municipality, Moqhaka, started in September 2011. After preliminary fieldwork planning and deliberations with environmental health practitioners in the local municipality, a research group, consisting of research leaders, postgraduate students and research associates of CuDyWat, held a number of planning meetings. Thereafter, between 3 and 6 October 2011, the group conducted fieldwork in the Moqhaka region. Environmental health practitioners from FezileDabi were also included in the team. A number of interviews were conducted with members of civil society, officials, planning and management experts, as well as local political leaders. Of particular importance were the discussions and information provided by members of the local non-governmental organisation known as Gatvol Kroonstad. Since the beginning of 2011 this NGO has actively pursued strategies aimed at improving service delivery, particularly in the water and sanitation services in parts of Moqhaka Local Municipality. The researchers specialising in areas such as civil engineering (specifically in the field of wastewater treatment), geohydrology, earth sciences, education, public management, history and political science, set out to interview people in all stakeholder sectors in the local municipal area to gain insight into the perceptions of stakeholders. They also undertook fieldwork to assess conditions at local water purification plants, wastewater treatment works and water storage facilities. In addition, they noted extensive pollution emanating from a number of water and sanitation pipeline systems. The research group set itself a number of goals. These included:

1. CuDyWat is located on the Vaal campus of North-West University in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng.

2. See The Mvula Trust at http://www.mvula.co.za/ (Accessed 2011.10.20).

3. V Munnik, V Molose, B Moore, J Tempelhoff, I Gouws, S Motloung, Z Sibiya, A van Zyl, P Malapela, B Buang, B Mbambo, J Khoadi, L Mhlambi, M Morotolo, R Mazibuko, M Mlambo, MI Moeketsi, N Qamakwane, N Kumalo and A Tsotetsi, Draft consolidated teport: the potential of civil society organisations in monitoring and improving water quality (Mvula Trust, Water Research Commission, October 2011).

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• identification of salient elements relating to the environmental health of the aquatic sphere in Moqhaka local municipal area;

• consideration of the role and functions of the environmental health practitioners operating in the local environment;

• investigation of various problematic issues pertaining to the local water supply and sanitation infrastructure; and

• providing the opportunity for members of the research team who specialise in particular aspects of water studies, to make observations that might contribute constructively to dealing with problematic issues.

This report is intended to be a preliminary part of a long-term investment in planning and discussion between stakeholders and researchers. The aim is to work towards finding an equitable solution to some of the problems in the community in respect of the aquatics environment. Special thanks to: FezileDabi District Municipality for initiating this project with NWU as research partner. External observer/assessor: Prof. Kobus Lombard NWU, Vaal, who participated in some of the fieldwork and group discussion in the process of compiling and completing the report. The management and staff of Arcadia Guest House who accommodated the research group during their stay in Kroonstad. The people who made the time to talk to and share their views on water and sanitation matters with members of the research team. JWN Tempelhoff Vanderbijlpark 2012-02-09

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Background: Service delivery, municipal elections and Moqhaka Local Municipality Problems with effective municipal service delivery have been a major issue in South Africa in recent years. Although a number of other factors play a contributing role,4 discontent with basic services, such as water and sanitation,5 have been at the core of a spate of protests6 which have become more violent of late.7 These expressions of post-democratic community dissatisfaction with the status quo began in 2004 when residents in the rural eastern Free State town of Harrismith 8 came out protesting against their local authority’s inferior service delivery performance. Similar outbursts soon spread to many other parts of the country. By April 2011 protest action once again surfaced in the Free State, this time in the town of Ficksburg, reaching a tragic climax with the death of 33-year-old Andries Tatane, an activist leading a group of discontented local residents; he died in the arms of a comrade when police fired rubber bullets in an effort to control this local service delivery protest.9 Tatane’s death, filmed by a television news team, left the country momentarily stunned at a time when 22 million eligible South African voters were being urged to cast a vote in the municipal elections scheduled for 18 May. The government was fully aware of the dire state of affairs. The chances were slim of the African National Congress (ANC) and its alliance partners, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP), being toppled at the polls. However, there were distinct fears that the party that had led the country to the freedom of a multiracial

4. N Nleya, L Thompson, C Tapscott, L Piper and M Esau, “Reconsidering the origins of protest

in South Africa: lessons from Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg” in Africanus, 41(1), pp. 14-29.

5. In the water sector there has been considerable concern about the deteriorating level of water service delivery, especially in the non-metro urban areas of South Africa. The department compiled a report in 2005, A drinking water quality framework for South Africa, that cited a number of serious problem areas that needed urgent attention. These included inefficient management, inferior infrastructure and inadequate interventions to tackle issues related to poor water quality. See Research Channel Africa, South Africa’s water sector 2011 (Creamer Media, Johannesburg, July 2011), p. 9.

6. N Nleya, “Linking service delivery and protest in South Africa: an exploration of evidence from Khayelitsha” in Africanus 41(1), 2011, pp. 3-13.

7. J Karamoko, “Service delivery protests: less frequent, more violent” in Local Government Bulletin, 13(3), September 2011, pp. 10-13; H Loubser, “Munisipale betogings gaan nie sommer wyk nie” in Volksblad, 2011.10.30 at http://www.volksblad.com/In-Diepte/Nuus/Munisipale-betogings-gaan-nie-sommer-wyk-20111030 (Accessed 2011.11.07).

8. S Motloung, The influence of political culture and socialization on integrated water resource management (IWRM): the case of the Thabo Mofutsanyane District Municipality (MA, Political Science, North-West University [Vaal], 2011).

9. B-A Mngxitama, “Tatane’s death underlines need for government to deliver” in Sowetan Live, 2011.04.19 at http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/columnists/2011/04/19/tatane-s-death-underlines-need-for-government-to-deliver (Accessed 2011.10.21); TS Maluleke, “Meet Andries. He died yesterday” in Thought leader, Mail & Guardian, 2011.04.15 at http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/tinyikosammaluleke/2011/04/15/meet-andries-he-died-yesterday/ (Accessed 2011.10.21).

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democracy in 1994 could, for the first time, be losing considerable support. At the heart of the public discontent was the poor record of service delivery at many of the more than 280 municipalities in the country.

Introduction: the ‘toilet election’ One of the hot topics of the election campaign of 2011 was toilets. By the time the campaign to win the hearts and minds of the electorate reached a climax in mid-May 2011, the otherwise peaceful region of Moqhaka Local Municipality was embroiled in the centre of a public debate about the hopelessly inadequate provision of toilet facilities in the country. The ‘toilet issue’ began in 2010 in the Makazha suburb of Khayalitsha township on the outskirts of Cape Town, where residents came out protesting under the banner of a local branch of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). There were complaints about the council not enclosing toilets that had been built out in the open on some residential stands. These facilities were said to be detrimental to the dignity of users in the township. Later the Democratic Alliance (DA)-controlled city council of Cape Town was castigated in a report compiled by the Human Rights Commission and an ensuing court case, which instructed the municipality to enclose the toilets.10 Cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister, Sichelo Sicheka, told the media that what had happened in Khayalitsha could only happen in Cape Town – insinuating that this type of thing was a sign of unsympathetic handling of a delicate matter that could only arise in the DA-controlled Western Cape – certainly not in the rest of the country.11 But he was to be proved wrong. A week before the local elections, another political bombshell burst when it came to light that in 2003 the Free State town of Viljoenskroon (in the Moqhaka Local Municipality) had begun a project to install about 1 600 toilets in the Rammulotsi township. These toilets also stood bleakly unenclosed.12 The media ferreted out that the municipality’s mayor was the responsible councillor for the ward in which the open toilets stood. Soon there was information to the effect that the lady mayor’s husband had been the contractor responsible for installing the toilets – without quite completing the project.13 On 13 May 2011 the mayor of Moqhaka was forced to flee when a substantial protest march was undertaken by local residents to the municipal offices in Kroonstad. Estimations of the size of the gathering vary, with some sources saying there were more than 1 000 protesters while others claimed there were about 3 000. Be that as it may, protesters representative of all races lodged a formal complaint against Moqhaka for poor service delivery. The crowd carried coffins inscribed with the acronym ‘RIP’, symbolically representing the ‘funeral of Moqhaka’. When the mayor turned her back on the crowd, angry words were shouted at her over a microphone. The mayor responded by telling the media:

10. South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), Case: WC/20100029 African National

Congress Youth League, Dullah Omar Region o.b.o. Ward 95, Makhaza residents (complainant) and City of Cape Town, respondent, Cape Town. Signed P Govender, Cape Town, 2011.06.11.

11. J-J Joubert, “ANC’s open toilet shame” in City Press, 2010.07.11 at http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/citypress/2010/07/12/CP/8/JJtoilets.html (Accessed 2011.10.21).

12. S Mashaba, “ANC in toilet saga” in Sowetan Live, 2011.05.09 at http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/2011/05/09/anc-in-toilets-saga (Accessed 2011.10.21).

13. S Evans and I Rawoot, “ANC mayor stood to profit from open toilets” in Mail & Guardian, 2011.05.11 at http://mg.co.za/article/2011-05-11-toilet-town-anc-mayor-profited-from-open-lavatories (Accessed 2011.10.21).

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The people do not pay their taxes… More than 50% are unemployed.14

The media proceeded to exploit the situation to the full. In interviews, women told a reporter how aggrieved they felt because of the non-enclosed toilets. One said she would wrap herself up in a blanket at night when going to the toilet. Another said that she did not want to carry on living in such destitution and that ‘God should rather take her away’.15 There were also reports, not all of them true, to the effect that in other parts of the Free State, conditions similar to those at Viljoenskroon prevailed. The towns of Wesselsbron, Theunissen, Winburg and Brandfort were listed. It was also alleged that in some places the toilets had been installed without being connected to water mains.16 Behind the protest march was an organisation, called Gatvol Kroonstad, that later even became an NGO of sorts. It was formed early in 2011 by a group of local business people who were concerned about rapidly deteriorating conditions in Kroonstad. There were potholes in the city’s streets, frequent electricity outages, leaking sewers and sub-standard municipal drinking water. Gatvol blamed the ANC-controlled local municipality for this unacceptable state of affairs. The ANC’s opposition in the Moqhaka Council, the Congress of the People (Cope) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), exploited the situation by actively supporting Gatvol. Subsequently the local municipal area of Moqhaka, especially Kroonstad and Viljoenskroon, have been in the spotlight of the national media; for the most part these have been negative stories about the inferior living conditions some of the municipality’s residents have to suffer. Gatvol Kroonstad has made extensive use of social media such as Facebook and SMS-messaging. On their Facebook page there are, for example, frequent discourses of irate and angry local residents complaining about municipal services.17 Added to this, there are many photographs which are freely accessible to internet-users worldwide. According to Mr Rudi Brits, a local property owner and estate agent, who is also one of the leaders of Gatvol, the NGO is essentially there to safeguard the rights of the people and its objective is to promote proper living conditions for the residents of Kroonstad. They have meanwhile joined hands with a number of other organisations countrywide, primarily activist in orientation, who are critical of municipal service delivery. Gatvol has also been active in promoting an internet-based information system, Mobilitate, aimed at informing the public on a variety of matters ranging from poor cellphone reception, crime spotting and news reports, to the active mapping of hotspots in service delivery and municipal infrastructure in all parts of South Africa.18

14. J Brits, “Toilet-woede laat hoë vlug” in Volksblad, 2011.05.14 at

http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2011/05/14/VB/1/krrou.html (Accessed 2011.10.25).

15. J Brits, “Vrou gooi kombers oor as sy toilet besoek: inwoners hier moeg gesukkel” in Volksblad, 2011.05.13 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2011/05/13/VB/2/krkroontoil-V2-02.html (Accessed 2011.10.25).

16. J Brits, “Vrou gooi kombers oor as sy toilet besoek: inwoners hier moeg gesukkel” in Volksblad, 2011.05.13 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2011/05/13/VB/2/krkroontoil-V2-02.html (Accessed 2011.10.25).

17. See “Gatvol Kroonstad” at http://www.facebook.com/GatvolKroonstad?sk=wall (Accessed 2011.11.08).

18. See the website of “Mobilitate: a better South Africa” at http://www.mobilitate.co.za/ (Accessed 2011.11.08).

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Post-election Moqhaka The toilet saga of the 2011 municipal elections has highlighted major discrepancies in official responses to critical issues of the day. The Cape Town City Council, in conjunction with civic and private bodies, have, since the municipal elections, managed to make a promising start at addressing social ecological problems. In the rural parts of the Free State, like in Moqhaka Local Municipality, things are somewhat different. While there have clearly been attempts at enclosing the toilets in the Rammulotsi/Viljoenskroon region, there are still many open toilets evident in Kroonstad’s Marabastad. Moreover, there are indications that longstanding problems with Moqhaka’s water and sanitation infrastructure are still a long way from repair. It seems to be more than merely a matter of the ‘wealthy’ urban Cape Town, and the less affluent areas of the rural Free State Province. This is symptomatic of a far larger problem. Countrywide, it appears unlikely that the prevalent backlog in the municipal water supply and sanitation infrastructure can be resolved overnight. A recent independent water sector report suggests that the country needs about R110 billion to catch up with the backlog in the maintenance of its water supply and sanitation infrastructure, while the national department of water affairs (DWA) has only budgeted R5, 4 billion for the next five years.19 Furthermore, although conditions at municipal water purification and wastewater treatment works have been improving since 2009, there remains much to be done before proper service delivery can start taking place.20 The principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM) – one of the cornerstones of water management in South Africa – can only be applied when there is a competent local government in place.21 The apparent lack of efficient local government,22 especially in the rural towns of South Africa, suggests that it could take some time before local water and sanitation services will receive a nod of approval from independent external water quality monitors. This has a marked knock-on effect on environmental health in many parts of the country. At the national level there are intense management debates on the future of water management in South Africa. The provincial divisions of the DWA, for example, are responsible for ensuring that catchment management agencies are up and running. However with the exception of two CMAs, another 17 are still waiting to be activated. In addition, the conflict between water users and managers tends to delay the effective implementation of viable institutional structures and principles that were outlined in South Africa’s water legislation more than a decade ago.23 At the local level, public discontent at the lack of adequate water and sanitation service delivery has been a smouldering issue in South Africa’s local government sector.24 Water and sanitation is also an 19. Research Channel Africa, South Africa’s water sector 2011, (Creamer Media, July 2011) p. 11.

20 . Ibid., pp. 10-11.

21. EH Haigh, H Fox, H Davies-Coleman, D Atkinson and M McCann, The role of local government in integrated water resources management (IWRM) linked to water services delivery (WRC Report 1688/1/08, Gezina, 2008).

22. J Themba, “Community satisfaction surveys” in Official Journal of the Institute of Municipal Finance Officers, 12(1) April 2011, pp. 18-19.

23. J Brown, “Assuming too much? Participatory water resource governance in South Africa” in The Geographical Journal, 177(2) June 2011, pp. 171-185; Comment by S Stuart-Hill, “South Africa’s potential for adaptive management”. Presentation at a water management workshop organised by the Water Research Commission, in conjunction with the Water Institute of South Africa, Premier Hotel, Kempton Park, 2011.11.04.

24. JWN Tempelhoff, “Water and history in Africa – with a focus on democracy in South Africa 1994–2011” in Ympäristöhistoria Finnish Journal of Environmental History (YFJEH), 2, 2011, pp. 12-28.

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important component of the demand for rudimentary housing by South Africans who come from a previously disadvantaged background. A 2009 survey on government housing pointed out that 95% of respondents considered water supply and sanitation as essential amenities that would enable them to lead meaningful lives.25 The expectations of ordinary South Africans are ubiquitous for basic, but vitally important local water services. It is against this background that the research project on the environmental health of the aquatic environment in Moqhaka Local Municipality has been undertaken.

Area under investigation Moqhaka Local Municipality (LM) is part of the FezileDabi District Municipality in the Free State Province and covers an area of about 7 893 km2. The largest urban unit in Moqhaka is Kroonstad/Maokeng/Brent Park with an estimated population of 166 195 residents, followed by the Viljoenskroon/Rammulotsi urban unit with approximately 59 202 and the Steynsrus/ Matlwangtlwang unit with about 13 000 inhabitants.26 According to official estimates (the Census 200127 and the Community Survey 200728), the population within Moqhaka LM increased only slightly from 167 892 to 170 522 (+1.6% change) in the respective 6-year time span (Community Survey 2007). However according to current estimates the population increased to 241 048 inhabitants by 2010 (IDP 2010/2011 Review), which poses, within a 3-year time span, an increase of 42% in comparison to 2007. Another statistic of even more alarming proportions for the water sector, puts the population of Moqhaka at 165 000 people in 2001.29 It then rose to an estimated 192 734 residents by 2010. Of these, approximately 186 686 people (96%) rely on municipal water supply and sanitation service delivery.30 Moqhaka Local Municipality is located in the Middle Vaal River Catchment and has a share in five tertiary catchment areas (as defined by DWA). They are the Vals (C60), Renoster (C70), Vaal (C23 and C24) and Sand River (C42). The Vals River plays the most important role. The municipality’s area of jurisdiction covers about 52% of the Vals River catchment (Figure 1). Needless to say, the 25. L van Vuuren, “Shap(e)ing up service delivery” in Water Wheel, 8(1) January/February, 2009,

pp. 28-9.

26. Moqhaka Local Municipality (MLM), Integrated Development Plan (IDP) 2011/2012 Part 1, p. 3.

27. Statistics South Africa (Statssa), Census 2001 at http://www.statssa.gov.za/census01/html/C2001publications.asp (Access 2011.10.09).

28. Community Survey 2007 at http://www.statssa.gov.za/Publications/Report-03-01-30/Report-03-01-302007.pdf (Access 2011.10.09)

29. FezileDabi district Municipality, Integrated development plan: 2011/12 at http://www.feziledabi.gov.za/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=file&id=120:fezile-dabi-idp-2011-2012&Itemid=296 (Accessed 2011.10.18).

30. MLM, WSA annual business plan: Audit report on implementation of the WSDP 2009/2010 (31 March 2011), p. 1.

Moqhaka Local Municipality in numbers

Area 7 893 km2

Population est. 241 048

Housing and service delivery (H=households) based on total population of 170,52228

H living in formal dwellings 52.2%

H living in informal dwellings 10.1%

H with access to piped water 32.8%

H with flush toilet 86.7%

H with VIP 3.9%

H with bucket latrine 2.1%

H with waste removal 1/week 90.3%

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river is used extensively as a source of water supply for local residents, in particular for Kroonstad and Steynsrus. Low flow situations are mitigated by off-channel storage schemes, such as the Bloemhoek and Grobler dams for Kroonstad. Viljoenskroon, which is located in the Olifants Vlei, abstracts its water from the Renoster River. In case of shortages additional water is obtained from the Vaal River at Renowal.

Figure 1: Moqhaka Local Municipality and catchments within municipality boundaries

Treated wastewater from Kroonstad is discharged into the Vals River directly at the wastewater treatment plant close to the central business district. Discharge from the Steynsrus wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) drains into the Jas se Spruit which flows into the Blomspruit. The Blomspruit enters the Vals River just downstream of the Kroonstad WWTP. In Viljoenskroon, wastewater discharge from the central wastewater treatment plant enters the Olifants Vlei, which drains towards the Renoster River. Due to the spatial settings, activities in Moqhaka LM mainly impact on the Vals River, since both upstream and downstream regions are located within the municipal boundaries. The following section will give a short overview on

the Vals River catchment area. The Vals River is a tributary of the Vaal River within the Middle Vaal Catchment Area and is part of the Highveld eco-region. Typical characteristics of this region are gentle, undulating to flat topography with shallow, open valleys. Rivers show equally gentle longitudinal profiles, stepped at dolerite sills and often with well-developed meander belts. Hydrological variability is fairly low and the overall climate is classified as semi-arid.31

31 (CSIR), Free State Region: State of River report 2003, at

http://www.csir.co.za/rhp/state_of_rivers.html (Accessed on 2010.09.16).

Figure 2: Percentages of different river catchments on total Moqhaka LM area. Free State Region, State of Rivers Report 2003, http://www.csir.co.za/rhp/state_of_rivers.html (Accessed on 2011.09.16)

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Land use within the catchment is dominated by grassland (unimproved grassland 57.84%) and cultivated land without irrigation (40.46%). Built up and urban areas (i.p. Kroonstad and Steynsrus urban units) contribute only 0.68% of the total catchment (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Vals River catchment – Land use. Source: CSIR, State of the rivers report: Free State Region 2003, http://www.csir.co.za/rhp/state_of_rivers.html (Accessed on 2011.09.16)

Predominant drivers, i.e. activities that have an impact on the river, are human settlements and agriculture. Expected pressures and possible, detectable impacts that result from these activities are listed in the following table.

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Table 1: Drivers, pressures and impacts on municipal governance and water resources management

Driver Pressure Possible impacts Settlements Water abstraction for domestic use and

drinking water Reduced water flow in river bed Dropping groundwater levels

Pollution with treated or/ and raw wastewater

In groundwater bodies and surface waters: Increased nutrient levels (phosphates, nitrates, ammonia) Increased pH, TDS, EC, turbidity Increased levels of heavy metals Only in surface waters: Low SASS32 scoring Increased algae growth Change of macrophytes (e.g. reeds) and diatom community

Pollution with stormwater runoff In groundwater bodies and surface waters: Increased nutrient levels Increased TDS, EC, turbidity Increased levels of heavy metals Only in surface waters: Low SASS scoring

Pollution with leachate from municipal landfills

In groundwater bodies and surface waters: Increased levels of heavy metals Increased levels of persistent organic pollutants Only in surface waters: Low SASS scoring Change of plant and animal communities and possible changes in plant and animal morphology due to toxic contaminants.

Weirs and dams to accommodate water abstraction schemes or flood protection

Change in sediment transport: accumulation of sediment upstream of weirs; erosion downstream of weirs In case of severe erosion and lowering of river bed: dropping of riparian groundwater levels

Alien species: riparian vegetation and fish Destruction of native plant and animal communities Agriculture Water abstraction for domestic use and

drinking water Reduced water flow in river bed Dropping groundwater levels

Pollution with fertiliser (runoff or percolate from fields)

In groundwater bodies and surface waters: Increased nutrient levels (phosphates, nitrates, ammonia) Increased pH, TDS, EC Only in surface waters: Low SASS scoring Increased algae growth Change of macrophytes (e.g. reeds) and diatom community

Pollution with animal manure

Pollution with pesticides In groundwater bodies and surface waters: Increased levels of persistent organic pollutants Only in surface waters: Low SASS scoring Change of plant and animal communities and possible changes in plant and animal morphology due to toxic contaminants.

Overgrazing River bank erosion Increased sediment input

Weirs and dams to accommodate water abstraction schemes or flood protection

See above

32 CSIR, South African Scoring System (SASS), at

http://www.csir.co.za/rhp/methods/dickens%20and%20graham.pdf (Accessed 2011.10.15).

17

The cumulative effect of those pressures given in Table 1 can be determined by investigating the current status, i.e. water quality, quantity and – in case of surface waters – river morphology. After investigating the status it is possible to deduct, evaluate and even quantify impacts of previously determined pressures. An intensive impact assessment is not available for the Vals River catchment area. However, the State of Rivers Report for the Free State Rivers of 200331 gives an overview of pressures and provides results from biological monitoring (p.c. also Figure 4). Whereas in the upstream regions of the Vals catchment near-natural conditions are found, habitat integrity and quality quickly deteriorate downstream of Kroonstad. As a main cause the report lists the discharge of raw sewage and the overloaded wastewater treatment works in Kroonstad. And finally, the large number of weirs has completely changed the flow and sediment dynamics of the river, causing immense erosion downstream of those weirs.

Figure 4: Results from River Health Programme (2003). P=poor, F=fair, G=good; considered indices (from left to right) are Index for Habitat integrity (IHI), Geomorphologic Index (GI), South African Scoring System (SASS), Fish Assemblage Integrity Index (FAII). Along the Rhenoster River only the IHI and SASS were evaluated (Source: CSIR, State of Rivers Report: Free State Region, 2003, http://www.csir.co.za/rhp/state_of_rivers.html)

18

Basic geohydrological and water resource management aspects: Kroonstad

Background The Water Services Development Plan (WSDP, 2004: Section 1) indicates that the Kroonstad Town area’s main water resource is the Bloemhoek Dam with supplements from the Vals River, as well as the Serfontein-, Groblers-, Barend Wessels-, and Strydom dams. Standby boreholes are also utilised during droughts. See the detailed locality map of the town, the relevant surface water catchment regions, dams, and municipal locations of importance. There are rural and farming settlements in the Kroonstad Town Area which are managed by the Moqhaka Local Municipality as the Water Services Authority. Although these settlements do not receive potable water from the same source as Kroonstad Town Area, they have been grouped together and included in this strategy, and are referred to as the Kroonstad Non-urban Town Area. The area consists of scattered farming and rural households supplied predominantly from boreholes tapping the groundwater reserves. The current water use for the Kroonstad Town Area is 15.3 million m³/a (42 Mℓ/day). With a current population of 84 891 people this means that the current per capita unit consumption of water is a too high 500 ℓ/c/d (litres per person per day) against a benchmark, based on the demographic profile, of 193 ℓ/c/d. A desk top assessment and interview with Mr Rautenbach (engineer in charge of the Water Purification Works) furthermore indicated a very high rate percentage of close to 30% regarding ‘unaccounted for water’ (UAW). This could be due to, inter alia, water losses and a lack of an active leakage control programme to identify, report and repair water leaks, ineffective metering and even thefts. The aforementioned are typical of water suppliers (municipal officials and politicians), users and consumers who do not know where their drinking water originates from... and they also do not care about the destiny of their used water.

Geology and geohydrology The area around Kroonstad is underlain by sandstones and mudstones of the Beaufort Group and shales of the Ecca Group. Coal resources also occur in the area. A large dolerite sheet has also been mapped around Kroonstad. Regarding the identification and development of sustainable water supplies and contrary to overall expectations, the Ecca Group has been mapped as a ‘Low development potential’ as opposed to the Beaufort Group as ‘Very Low development potential’. With coarser sediments in the Beaufort Group it would have been logical to have a higher development potential. The dolerite sheet however does offer the opportunity of higher groundwater yields.33 The Vals River rises in the foot hills of the Drakensberg mountain range and flows naturally in a westerly direction up to the small town of Lindley where it gets exposed to its first municipal utilisation and possibly pollution due to the accommodation of stormwater, effluent and raw sewage. On its way towards Kroonstad the town of Steynsrus’ service provider abstracts water from it at the farm Morgenzon and the river further on is mainly utilised by farmers and limited numbers of small settlements. When it reaches the Serfontein Dam the river has not yet ‘worked’ very hard. But, this unfortunately changes in Kroonstad and immediately downstream of the city due to ineffective river management and sloppy water services management (water purification, stormwater and sanitation aspects) by the responsible service providers in the city area. 33 . Nealer oral archive (NOA). Interview E Bertram, DWA, in 2011.

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From Kroonstad the River flows in a westerly direction and is joined by the Blom Spruit (carrying possible pollutants deposited at Steynsrus) from where it flows through to Bothaville and joins the Vaal River approximately 10km west of the town. From the aforementioned it can be concluded that the area has limited groundwater reserves and that the identification and development of additional potable water reserves for the city should be focussed on the surface water resources in the up-stream catchments of the Vals River being more effectively collected, stored and released in the Serfontein Dam. The potential of the smaller surface water catchments of the Blom Spruit south of the City as well as the Jordaan Spruit northeast of the City should also be investigated.

Conclusive potable water supply thoughts Kroonstad Town Area is currently facing a water resource deficit and in order to reduce the water requirements of the city to benchmark levels, the following interventions were recommended by DWA in 2004 and should be implemented:

• An immediate analysis of both residential and non-residential water use patterns, and of the water use within the different socio-economic brackets as well as water demand management measures.

• Ensuring system efficiencies so that as much water as possible reaches users and consumers with minimum system losses.

• Additional water use and consumption efficiency measures such as tariff structures, consumer awareness and education.

• Having brought the current excessive water requirements down to benchmark levels, the WSA must further plan and implement Water Conservation Management measures to ensure that system losses are minimised throughout the supply chain and that users strive to minimise use and optimise efficiency.

• A detailed yield analysis of all the dams used and their surface water catchment areas to supply the Kroonstad Town Area should be undertaken to confirm the sustainable yields of each dam. (Historic firm yield is apparently the latest flavour of the month).

• A feasibility study should be conducted to identify feasible options to augment the water sources in the area only if the revision of the current and projected future water demand and the results of the detailed yield analysis confirm the need for augmentation.

• A pre-feasibility groundwater study (desktop) and feasibility study (limited drilling of exploration boreholes and pump testing successful ones) should be executed.

Basic geohydrological and water resource management aspects of Steynsrus

Background Steynsrus Town Area has a visible small CBD and is surrounded by the urban free-standing housing and extensive lower-income housing. The Steynsrus/Matlwangtlwang unit is situated approximately 55 km east of Kroonstad and 92 km west of Bethlehem settlements. The area is located in an area of agricultural significance and mainly provides services in this regard to the surrounding rural areas. See the detailed locality map of the town, the relevant surface water catchment region, the dam, and municipal locations of importance The Water Services Development Plan (WSDP, 2011: Section 1) indicates that the area’s main water resource is the Morgenzon Dam (Vals River off channel storage dam) halfway between Lindley and Kroonstad. The dam is owned by the Department of Water Affairs and is operated by

20

the Moqhaka Local Municipality. Some standby boreholes tapping the groundwater reserves downstream of the Dam are also utilised during droughts. The water is transported by way of pipelines from sources to the water treatment work at the town. There are rural and farming settlements in the Steynsrus Town Area which are managed by the Moqhaka Local Municipality as the main Water Services Authority. Although these settlements do not receive water from the same source as Steynsrus, they have been grouped together and included in this strategy, and are referred to as the Steynsrus Non-urban Town Area. The area consists of scattered farming and rural households supplied predominantly from boreholes. According to the NSDP the area is not recognised as an economic growth point. The current water use for the Steynsrus Town Area is 0.7 million m³/a (1.9 Mℓ/day). With a current population of 7 518 people this means that the current per capita unit consumption of water is a high 253 ℓ/c/d (litres per person per day) against a benchmark, based on the demographic profile of 103 ℓ/c/d. A desk top assessment indicated a high rate percentage of 21% regarding ‘unaccounted for water’ (UAW) due to, inter alia, water losses and a lack of an active leakage control programme to identify, report and repair water leaks, ineffective metering and even thefts. The aforementioned are typical of water suppliers (municipal officials and politicians), users and consumers who do not know where the drinking water originates from... and they also do not care about the destiny of their used water.

Geoloogy and geohydrology The area around Steynsrus is primarily geologically underlain by sandstones and mudstones of the Beaufort group and shales of the Ecca Group. A large dolerite sheet has also been mapped around the town. Regarding the identification and development of sustainable water supplies and contrary to overall expectations, the Ecca Group has been mapped as a ‘Low development potential’ as opposed to the Beaufort Group as ‘Very Low development potential’. With coarser sediments in the Beaufort Group it would have been logical to have a higher development potential. The dolerite sheet however does offer the opportunity of higher groundwater yields (Bertram, Interview, 2011). A local official, responsible for municipal management functions in the town, in an interview with a member of the research team, explained that the town experienced considerable water problems.34 The local storage dam had broken on numerous occasions and many alternative sources of water had been investigated.35 There appeared to be unwillingness in some quarters to cooperate with the local authority to develop potential water storage facilities. Local farmers, applied obstructive strategies, when the municipality planned for an additional water storage dam in the Vals River, below the existing storage dam.36 An alternative source that has been considered is the local groundwater. In former times, significant quantities of groundwater had been abstracted via boreholes. Currently some of the boreholes are not working properly. Some pumps have broken down. The groundwater in some areas may even be contaminated. Attempts by the municipality to purchase a groundwater abstraction site on a local

34 . TOA OI 2011.10.05.

35 . Anon., “Waterskaarste wek kommer” in Volksblad, 2007.08.21 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/08/21/KN/3/knlesothowater.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

36 . TOA O2 2011.10.05.

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farm, were not successful. The owner was not willing to enter into an agreement on the use of the groundwater situated on the farm.37 From the aforementioned it can be concluded that the area has some potential groundwater reserves and that the identification and development of additional potable water reserves for the smallish town should be focussed on the investigation, development and simultaneous utilisation of both surface water and groundwater resources in the area. A scientifically executed geo-hydrological investigation must be undertaken to determine the nature and extent of the current water resources (dam and boreholes) and whether additional resources can be identified, developed and tapped.

Conclusive thoughts Steynsrus town area is currently facing a water resource deficit and in order to reduce the water requirements of the town to benchmark levels, the following interventions were recommended by DWA in 2004 (Source?) and should be implemented:

• An immediate analysis of both residential and non-residential water use patterns, and of the water use within the different socio-economic brackets.

• Ensuring system efficiencies and that as much water as possible reaches users and consumers with minimum system losses.

• Additional water use and consumption efficiency measures such as tariff structures, consumer awareness and education.

• Having brought the current excessive water requirements down to benchmark levels, the WSA must further plan and implement Water Conservation and Water Demand Management measures to ensure that system losses are minimised throughout the supply chain and that users strive to minimise use and optimise efficiency.

• A detailed yield analysis of the Morgenzon Dam and its surface water catchment area to supply the Town Area should be undertaken to confirm the sustainable yield of the dam.

A feasibility study should be conducted to identify feasible options to augment the water sources in the area only if the revision of the current and projected future water demand and the results of the detailed yield analysis confirm the need for augmentation.

Municipal governance and water resources management In many respects the situation in Moqhaka Local Municipality is symptomatic of a condition that was identified in 2005 in the department of water affairs’ Drinking water quality framework for South Africa, in which the inferior quality of water in the rural urban areas of the country was singled out as cause for serious concern. The report pointed to various factors responsible for the state of affairs. These included:

• a lack of understanding on the part of Water Services Authorities (WSAs) of the requirements for proper water quality management;

• poor management practices; • bBad infrastructure management; • insufficient qualified human resources in the local water sector; and • inadequate interventions to address the problem of inferior water quality.38

37 . TOA O2 2011.10.05.

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A number of steps have been taken, especially since 2009, to address these issues. However, as will become evident in the discussion that follows, in Moqhaka LM the matter has only recently begun to receive attention.

Potable water The Moqhaka Local Municipality performs the function of both a water services authority (WSA) and a water services provider (WSP). A WSA is an entity that performs the water delivery/supply service provided by the municipality, while a WSP is an entity that abstracts, treats and supplies potable drinking water. Hence, the provisioning of safe and reliable drinking/potable water is a key function of the municipality. The municipality owns and operates three water treatment facilities serving the following urban units:

• Kroonstad/Maokeng/Brent Park (“Kroonstad”); • Viljoenskroon/Rammulotsi (“Viljoenskroon”); and • Steynsrus/Matlwangtlwang (“Steynsrus”).

A useful place to gain an overview of the performance of the municipality as a WSA and WSP providing safe and reliable drinking water is through the recently developed Blue Drop Certification process, a project initiated in 2009 by the National Department of Water Affairs (DWA).

The 2011 Blue Drop39 report shows the local Moqhaka Local Municipality’s blue drop score to be poor. Its performance is outlined in Table 2. The municipality scored an average of 21.76%, putting its ranking at sixth lowest (out of 20 municipalities) in the Free State Province. The Kroonstad water plant received a score of 20.91%; Viljoenskroon 31.5%; and Steynsrus 16.35%.

The 2011 Blue Drop report stated that Moqhaka Local Municipality performed disappointingly and below expectation during their first assessment.39

However, the regulator (DWA) was encouraged by the fact that the municipality had finally (in the third year since the launch of the Blue Drop campaign) participated in the assessment.40 The authors indicated that the municipality had a long way to go and noted with some sense of concern that

the current situation poses a risk to public health.

The Blue Drop score for Moqhaka is comprehensively outlined in the Table 2.

38. Research Channel Africa, South Africa’s water sector 2011 (Creamer Media, Johannesburg,

July 2011), p. 9.

39 DWA, The 2011 Blue Drop Report, at www.dwa.gov.za (Accessed 2011.10.06).

40 Ginster Oral Archive (GOA), Interview 2011.10.04. Mr Mike Lelaka, manager, technical services Moqhaka Local Municipality, Kroonstad.

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Table 2: Blue drop score for the potable water supply systems operated by Moqhaka Local Municipality

There was emphasis on a number of problem areas, notably that: • the municipality was not well prepared for the assessment and only the data for two months

appeared on the Blue Drop System; • drinking water quality management practices were not effectively managed and the

expectations of the regulatory programme were for the most part not met; and • the occurrence of frequent microbiological failures41 in Steynsrus and Kroonstad rendered the

water unsafe for human consumption. The assessment specifically highlighted the need for the municipality to focus on improving disinfection practices because this had a significant affect on the ability of the municipality to provide safe drinking water. Moreover, the water treatment plants were found to be in a

dilapidated condition and in a state of total collapse.42

The report recommended that urgent maintenance work be done. Plant visits In October 2011 members of NWU’s CuDyWat research team conducted a fieldwork expedition in the Moqhaka Local Municipality’s area of jurisdiction. All the water treatment plants operated by the municipality were visited between 3 and 5 October. In the discussion to follow there is an 41 See section: “Where did the problem start?”

42 . DWA, The 2011 Blue Drop Report, at www.dwa.gov.za (Accessed 2011.10.06).

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overview of each plant, as well as observations made on the state of the plant. All three plants are based on similar technology. Their primary purpose is to remove suspended solids from the abstracted river water (by the process of flocculation/coagulation and filtration) followed by disinfection (through chlorination) to produce potable drinking water that is supplied for commercial and residential use.

Water purification plant, Kroonstad

Main characteristics Built in 1940s-1950s, later

various filter upgrades (latest in 1995)

System Flocculation + sand filter + chlorination

Maximum capacity 60 Ml/d

Current capacity 40-45 Ml/d

Population connected

155 000

Disinfection Chlorination

Water intake from Vals River on site

Blue Drop Rating 20.91%

Process description The water purification plant in Kroonstad is located 1.5km east of the central business district. It is based on a flocculation-sedimentation process, followed by sand filtration and chlorine disinfection. Water from the Vals River is extracted on site. In a distribution tower lime (for pH-stabilisation) and a flocculating agent are added to the inflowing water. The agent causes the precipitation of suspended solids in the water. In six clarifiers the water is stirred slightly to promote the formation of larger particles (=floc), which settle at the bottom or float to the surface in the form of a foam. Both the foam and sludge are regularly removed. The clarified water is then further cleaned in 21 rapid sand filters. As a final step, chlorine is added to the filtrate in order to disinfect the water. The treated water is then released into the distribution system. On 3 October the Kroonstad water treatment plant was the first to be visited. Outside the plant, an interview was conducted with Mr Hennie Rautenbach, the operational manager for the Moqhaka water and wastewater treatment plants.43 He told the members of the research team that the capacity of the water treatment plant is 60Mℓ/day and has a current throughput of 40–45 Mℓ/day. The plant serves about 150 000 people and the municipality is currently able to meet the growth demands for this urban node. The plant was designed in the 1940s but has been upgraded several times since then; the last major upgrade was in 1995 when new sand filters were installed. Water is abstracted from the Vals River, which gets a large part of its water from the Bloemhoek Dam. Rautenbach estimated the ‘buffer’, or storage capacity of this water supply system, at about 3200Mℓ. He remarked that it presented a ‘fairly good assurance of supply’. He saw the main challenges to providing clean potable water as being the algal growth in the river water and problems associated with the smell and taste of the water.44

43 . GOA, OI 01, 2011.10.03; BOA, OI 02, 2011.10.03.

44 . GOA, OI 02, 2011.10.03; BOA, OI 02, 2011.10.03.

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The plant consists of six clarifiers and 21 filters (four different types of filters are used, and they backwash twice daily). Selected water quality analyses are conducted including pH, chlorine and turbidity. The flocculent that is used differs depending on the amount of suspended solids that need to be removed, which is a seasonal issue. The water can have high suspended solids in excess of 4000NTU. When turbidity is low a PAC (poly aluminium chloride) flocculent is used. The municipality has 15 drinking water quality monitoring sites located throughout the town. Rautenbach admitted that the municipality received a low rating score for its Blue Drop certification. In his view the main reasons for this state of affairs were the lack of accredited operators and the poor state of the plant. However, he was quick to emphasise that the

Water quality is generally good – we meet SANS45 requirements.46

He identified key challenges as: lack of qualified operators; poor maintenance of the plant; old equipment; and insufficient funding. When asked about access to water quality monitoring data he concurred that it was necessary. The plan was to have the data published on the Blue Drop website –

[The] matter has been discussed several times.47

The municipality has received some funding from the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme (ACIP)48 to undertake repairs of the water plant.49 This was described as an intervention from national government to invest in infrastructure projects where local municipalities are unable to fund such interventions. ACIP is being driven by DWA, with Bloemwater appointed as the implementing agent. It is a refurbishment project. By 2010, a total of 117 such projects had been implemented creating 7221 job opportunities.50 In the Free State, R46 million was paid out in the financial period 2010/11–1.51 Funds had been set aside for the Kroonstad plant to replace gearboxes and motors.52 Rautenbach was of the opinion that the intervention would be completed by February 2012, but admitted that he was uncertain whether the deadline dates could be met.

45. South African National Standards, 241. These specifications meet international drinking quality

standards. All municipalities are legally required to monitor their drinking water in terms of this standard. However, it is well known that not all local authorities in the country conform to this requirement. See Research Channel Africa, South Africa’s water sector 2011 (Creamer Media, Johannesburg, July 2011), p. 9.

46 . BOA, OI 02, 2011.10.03.

47. BOA, OI 02, 2011.10.03.

48 This plan was initiated in 2008 and rolled out in 2010. See J Evans, “The water sector in context at municipal level”, Presentation to the Siyenza Manje report back session, 2009.05.07.

49 In a discussion with Mr Paul Herbst, director in the DWA on 12 October, he mentioned that the ACIP programme was creating a significant challenge in both the national and provincial offices of the DWA: “It creates a significant administrative burden for very little money”.

50. DWA, Budget vote speech, minister of water and environmental affairs for 14 April 2011 at http://www.dwa.gov.za/Communications/MinisterSpeeches/2011/SPEECH%20FOR%20DEPUTY%20MINISTER%2014%20APRIL%202011.pdf (Accessed 2011.11.06).

51. DWA, Progress in the Accelerated Community Infrastructure Programme (ACIP): briefing to the select committee on land and environmental affairs (National Council of Provinces), Cape Town, 2011.05.31.

52. M Phillips, “Munisipaliteite in VS deur afvaardiging besoek: deel van munisipale imbizo-fokusweek” in Volksblad, 2005.10.03, p. 8; Anon., “Services improved” in Volksblad Express, 2007.10.12-14, p. 1.

26

When asked about the quality of the distribution network, Rautenbach commented that this region still had many [old] asbestos pipes, and:

[The] quality of water differs between distribution network and that seen in the homes.53

Rautenbach estimated the water losses from the reticulation system at about 30% although he admitted that this was difficult to measure. He mentioned that in 2007 a water conservation/ water demand management (wc/wdm) study was undertaken which identified the biggest losses being due to faulty plumbing in homes. He also mentioned that the intention was to fix leaks, but the project ‘didn’t get off the ground’.54 A discussion followed on an incident that occurred previously -where no chlorination of the treated water was done, resulting in a health scare in the town. In October 2010 media reports claimed that potable water supplies in the Moqhaka Local Municipal area were contaminated and as many as 300 people were suffering from diarrhoea. 55 The provincial environmental health authorities told the media that they had discovered the municipality’s drinking water had not been purified properly. Not only was this situation confined to the city of Kroonstad, but there were similar complaints in Steynsrus and Viljoenskroon.56 By November 2010 it was claimed that 1 000 residents of Kroonstad had symptoms of nausea and diarrhoea. The town’s water had not been chlorinated for more than 14 days. A local doctor told the media that on a daily basis he was treating hundreds of patients suffering from diarrhoea.57 At the time of the group interview at the Kroonstad purification plant, Mr Rautenbach responded by explaining that the unavailability of chlorine was a procurement issue and not a budgetary/financial constraint issue. After the interview, members of the research group walked through the plant. The diagram below, points to some of the obvious vulnerabilities.

53. GOA, OI 02, 2011.10.03.

54 It is far more likely that the larger losses arose from the piping system itself; it was probably a convenient excuse to blame the households.

55. SAPA, “300 diarrhoea cases in Kroonstad” in Health24 at http://www.health24.com/news/General_health/1-915,59093.asp (Accessed 2011.09.25).

56. SAPA, “300 diarrhoea cases in Kroonstad” in Health24 at http://www.health24.com/news/General_health/1-915,59093.asp (Accessed 2011.09.25).

57. J Brits, “Inwoners raak siek oor water nie chloor inkry nie” in Beeld, 2010.11.18 at http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2010/11/18/B1/2/krsiek1752.html (Accessed 2011.10.13).

27

Figure 5: Process sketch and current functionality of Water Purification plant, Kroonstad, as observed on 2011/10/03 (Red cross = out of order; orange dash = not maintained)

The following photographs illustrate the extent of collapse evident in the system at Kroonstad’s water purification works.

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Figure 6: Pictures of the Kroonstad water treatment plant

Observations • The plant is in a generally poor state; it is dilapidated, old and seems to be in a state of

disarray. • Serious safety hazards were identified – missing railings, underground openings with no

covers, poor housekeeping. • Original water intake via steel pipes is bypassed in a makeshift/temporary manner into above

ground plastic pipes which are vulnerable to damage. • Workshops, including storage facilities (spare parts and pipes) are in a shocking state of

disarray. • There is evidence of many temporary arrangements (e.g. pipes, also a submersible pump that

is being rented at a significant additional cost to the municipality). • No safety induction was given to visitors prior to the plant tour. • There is much evidence of lack of maintenance – for example the motor driving the clarifier

rotating arm was not functioning; the drive chain had also been disconnected. • There is no evidence that monitoring of the process is properly in place. • Most clarifiers appear to be non-functional, i.e. sludge removal is not working. • Maintenance of sand filters is highly questionable, considering the general state of the plant.

29

• Algae growth in the river and high turbidity during the rainy season pose problems for the plant.

Water purification plant, Steynsrus On 4 October 2011, the day the Steynsrus water purification works was visited, it was not functioning due to a breakage of the main water transfer pipeline from the abstraction point on the Vals River. The operator, Samuel Moseme, provided a tour of the plant.

Main characteristics

Built in unknown


Maximum capacity

2.5 Ml/d

Current capacity unknown


30 000


Water intake from off-channel storage dam


Process description The plant in Steynsrus is located north-west of the town on the Edenville road and is based on a flocculation-sedimentation process, followed by sand filtration and chlorine disinfection. Operators add lime (for pH-stabilisation) and a flocculating agent to the inflowing water in the inlet structure. The agent causes the precipitation of suspended solids in the water. Slightly turbulent flow and a sufficient retention time in the following flocculation chamber, enable the mixing of the agent with the water and the formation of larger particles (=floc). In the sedimentation tank, floc either settles to the bottom or forms a foamy layer floating on the surface. Two hand-operated winches are used to clean out accumulated floc. From the central sedimentation tank the clarified water flows into neighbouring rapid sand filters, where the water is cleaned from remaining particles. In a final step, chlorine is added to the filtrate in order to disinfect the water. The treated water is then released into the distribution system. There are no reservoirs. See accompanying pictures.

Observations • The plant is in a poor condition – there is a general impression that the plant has been

neglected and poorly maintained. • At the time of the visit, the plant was not in operation (broken inlet pipe). • One of the filtration units was damaged; in the operator’s opinion it is beyond repair. • A makeshift chlorination facility is in use, with swimming pool-grade “HTH” being dosed

into the treated water intended for the town’s consumers. The dosage, according to the operator, was about ‘one cup every two hours’ to the water leaving the plant.

• General decay/dilapidation and poor housekeeping practices, including unsafe (mostly electrical) practices, were evident.

30

• The grounds of the plant are neglected (grass uncut, waste bags and litter lying around). • The two winches used for floc removal were broken at the time of the visit and apparently

they have been in this state for more than three years. • There was no chlorine in store. Therefore HTH swimming pool chlorine is used for

disinfection. • The office/recreation room used by the operators and security personnel is ill-equipped and

poses a serious safety threat. For example, there is no heating and the electricity socket is broken. The connection is live but there is no safe means to access it.

• There is an unsafe makeshift heater in use. The overall observations made during the site visit tended to support the very low (16.35%) Blue Drop Score achieved by this facility.

Figure 7: Observed functionality of Water purification plant Steynsrus (Red cross = out of order; orange dash = not maintained)

The illustrations that follow point to the state of affairs at Steynsrus.

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Unsafe practice Unsafe practice

Flocculation Filtration

Mixing and coagulation Chlorination

A local official responsible for municipal management functions at Steynsrus/ Matlwangtwlang, in an interview with a member of the research team, explained that the town experienced considerable water problems.58 The local storage dam had broken on numerous occasions and many alternative

58. TOA OI, 2011.10.05.

32

sources of water had been investigated.59 There appeared to be an unwillingness in some quarters to cooperate with the local authority to develop potential water storage facilities. Local farmers applied obstructive strategies when the municipality planned for an additional water storage dam in the Vals River, below the existing storage dam.60 An alternative source that has been considered is the local groundwater. In former times, significant quantities of groundwater had been abstracted for the town from boreholes.61 Currently some of the boreholes are not working properly. Some pumps have broken down. The groundwater in some areas may even be contaminated. Attempts by the municipality to purchase a groundwater site on a local farm were unsuccessful. The owner was not willing to enter into an agreement on the use of the groundwater on the farm.62

Water Purification Plant, Viljoenskroon Of the three facilities, Viljoenskroon water treatment plant received the highest Blue Drop score (31.51%) in 2011, although this score still remains dismal. The operator, Nicholas Damani, provided a tour of the plant.

Main characteristics

Built in 1987 (upgrades)


Maximum capacity

6.6 Ml/d

Current capacity ?? Ml/d


30 000


Water intake Rhenoster River


Process description The Viljoenskroon water purification plant is located 25km out of town to the north-east on the Potchefstroom road. It is based on a flocculation-sedimentation process, followed by sand filtration and chlorine disinfection. Water from the Rhenoster River is abstracted using two abstraction pumps about 300m from the plant itself. In a distribution tower lime (for pH-stabilisation) and a flocculating agent are added and the water is diverted to one of three primary clarifiers (of which only one is fully functioning) where the separation of suspended solids (in the form of floc) and water is initialised. From there the water is transferred to a sedimentation tank, then to a second

59. Anon., “Waterskaarste wek kommer” in Volksblad, 2007.08.21 at

http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/08/21/KN/3/knlesothowater.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

60. TOA OI 02 2011.10.05.

61. Personal disclosure, Prof. E Nealer who worked as a hydroigeologist of the department of water affairs in the region in the 1980s.

62. TOA OI 02, 2011.10.05.

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clarifier and finally to rapid sand filters. Before the water is released, it is treated with chlorine via a dosing system with liquid hypochlorite solution. The treated water is then sent to an underground holding tank from where it is pumped to three reservoirs which are located half way to Viljoenskroon on the Potchefstroom road. When asked about the problems and challenges at the plant, the operator immediately asked: ‘Who is going to solve them?” The operator63 expressed the following:

• “Pumps are a problem, sometimes they break, like this weekend when we were running on only one water pump; we do not have spares?”

• “Let’s hope something comes of this. We are not happy with the way things are. If we can get maintenance it should be better.”

• “Also lights, we have no lights at the back of the plant or at the river.”

The operator was visibly frustrated by the current state of affairs. He placed the blame on the lack of maintenance, but was careful not to accuse any specific individual for the parlous situation.

Observations • This is an equally dilapidated plant. • Use is made of temporary and (undersized) water abstraction pumps. • At the time of the visit the operator was experiencing a problem with (seasonal) algae, he was

trying to pre-chlorinate at the river but this pump had broken down the previous weekend and there was no indication of when this was likely to be repaired.

• Various safety hazards were observed – for example safety railings (at height) are missing and there is a broken manhole cover at the entrance of the plant.

• Only three of the four water pumps (used to pump treated water to reservoirs) are in working order.

• The main inlet pipe is in a makeshift state, with significant leakages. • Sludge removal from the clarifiers is questionable.

63 BOA RN: Nicholas Damani.

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Figure 8: Process sketch of Viljoenskroon Water Purification Plant and observed functionality (Red cross = out of order; orange dash = not maintained)

The following illustrations shed some light on the state of the plant.

Viljoenskroon water treatment works Vals River at water abstraction point

The town of Viljoenskroon relies on this pump! Very unsafe

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Figure 9: Current water supply scheme for Viljoenskroon and possible future extension

Members of the research team visited the settlement of Vierfontein on 6 October 2011. It was established in 1958 as a residential area when the Electricity Supply Commission of South Africa (Eskom) started a power station capable of generating 360MW from coal that was mined locally. The power station made a substantial contribution in the post-World War II period to meet the demand for electricity on the Free State goldfields and in the Klerksdorp region. The plant was decommissioned in 1990 because the local mining yield of about 44 million metric tonnes of coal had been exhausted. At the time the village of Vierfontein comprised a settlement of 161 houses, 98 single rooms, and a compound accommodating 415 persons. There were also comprehensive social facilities, including a club and sporting activities. Church facilities were also added over the years. When the power station was decommissioned the village of Vierfontein was sold to a private company, Royal Texas Beef, who maintained the extended property and sold the houses to private owners.64 The water purification plant is fairly small providing a maximum of 3Mℓ for a community of about 180 local residents. The water is pumped from the Vaal River and then purified at the plant, situated on the enclosed estate of Vierfontein.

64. Anon., “Vierfontein power station” at

http://heritage.eskom.co.za/heritage/vierfontein/vierfontein.htm (Accessed 2011.11.08).

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Figure 10 Water purification plant Vierfontein. Photograph JWN Tempelhoff

Some local residents are retired. Others work at the gold mines in Orkney or neighbouring towns. The water purification works and wastewater treatment works are old, but they seemed to be well maintained. The water system is operated in a dual mode, with potable water supplied directly to the homes for domestic use and secondary water being made available at a reduced rate in the village to domestic water users for gardening purposes. It was evident that the water supply system is not under excessive pressure, for example because of population growth. The manager informed the researchers that the plan was to decommission the water plant in 2012 when Midvaal Water was expected to provide Vierfontein with a consistent water supply.65 Moqhaka Local Municipality’s incorporation of Vierfontein into its operations began in May 2009 when a delegation from the municipality visited the community and informed residents that Moqhaka would formally take over the running of the village. At the meeting the residents intimated that they were happy with the existing state of affairs (as of 1990) and their service delivery processes were working satisfactorily. The Vierfontein residents also told the council’s officials that they were well aware of the poor state of Kroonstad’s water and sanitation infrastructure. Mr Mokete Duma, the municipal manager, countered that the news media had exaggerated the Kroonstad hassles and gave the excuse that the infrastructure there was well over 50 years old; this was why it was becoming problematic. Vierfontein residents responded that although their systems were much the same age they were still in good working order.66 Subsequent to this meeting tensions between the local municipality and the residents of Vierfontein have eased somewhat and at the time of the research team’s visit there were indications of an amicable relationship between Vierfontein and the Moqhaka municipal officials who participated in

65. TOA OI 01, 2011.10.06, Vierfontein.

66. Goudveldse kantoor, “Vierfontein nie ten gunste van inlywing by Moqhaka” in Volksblad, 2009.05.19 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/05/19/VB/4/wevier.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

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the research. It is anticipated that Vierfontein will be linked up to an extensive piped potable water supply system in 2012.

Overall observations The water treatment plants visited are all in a poor state. They all have ageing/ old facilities and there is a lack of attention to refurbishment. Maintenance and good operating practices are clearly missing. However, they all function to some extent. All the plants are dosing flocculent which might be the critical step in achieving a minimum of water treatment.

State of the wastewater treatment service provided by Moqhaka Local Municipality

Background Moqhaka Local Municipality has to provide proper sanitation options for approximately 241 048 people. The majority of these are resident in the three urban units Kroonstad/ Maokeng/ Brent Park; Viljoenskroon/ Rammulotsi; and Steynsrus/ Matlwangtlwang. Each of these urban units has a centralised wastewater treatment works (WWTW). All plants are managed and operated by the municipality.

Green Drop Report Similar to the Blue Drop Programme for water purification plants, WWTWs are evaluated by the Green Drop Programme, which is also an incentive-based rating system. The programme incorporates two systems, firstly, the Green Drop Certification and secondly, a Risk Rating. As part of the Green Drop Certification process, a number of key performance indicators in 11 key performance areas are assessed. These areas include, for example, process control and management; wastewater monitoring and compliance; storm water management; treatment capacity; reporting; and asset management. In order to receive a Green Drop certificate a minimum score of 90% must be achieved.67 The Risk Rating process in the Green Drop Programme aims at evaluating the risk a WWTW poses to the environment and to human health. Ratings are made on design capacity and whether the plant exceeds this capacity; cases of non-compliance; skilled staff; environmental sensitivity; and general management. As depicted in the Green Drop Report of 2011, the Green Drop Score for all three WWTWs in Moqhaka Local Municipality is below 50%. With 40.6%, the Viljoenskroon plant received the

67 DWA, Green Drop Handbook, (2011) at http://www.dwa.gov.za/dir_ws/GDS/Default.aspx

(Accessed 2011.10.06).

Table 3: Green Drop Scores

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lowest rating, followed by Kroonstad (40.8%), and finally Steynsrus, which received a rating of 43%.68 Equally, the Risk Rating reflects the poor state of the wastewater treatment facilities. The highest risk is posed by Kroonstad WWTP (91.3%) and the lowest by Viljoenskroon WWTP (83.3%).

Table 4: Green Drop Rating 2011

At all Moqhaka Local Municipality’s WWTWs a major shortcoming was the lack of monitoring, including operational water quality monitoring and also volumetric monitoring. Apart from this, insufficient preparation for participating in the Green Drop assessment as well as a general lack of process documentation stood out in a negative way.69 In the report there were positive comments on attempts to improve the plant in Kroonstad. Although the intended refurbishment was a step in the right direction there were some reservations about the lack of plans to prevent the infrastructure from once again deteriorating as was the case with the other plants of Moqhaka. 70

Plant visits Members of the research group visited all three wastewater treatment plants operated by Moqhaka Local Municipality between 3 and 6 October. The following sections will provide a description of the different plants and observations on the state of the plants made by the research team. Please

68 DWA Green Drop Report 2011, Chapter 4, p. 101

athttp://www.dwa.gov.za/dir_ws/GDS/Default.aspx (Accessed 2011.10.06).

69. DWA Green Drop Report 2011, at http://www.dwa.gov.za/dir_ws/GDS/Default.aspx (Accessed 2011.10.06).

70. DWA Green Drop Report 2011, at http://www.dwa.gov.za/dir_ws/GDS/Default.aspx (Accessed 2011.10.06).

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note that the plant sketches merely provide a rough overview of the processes and do not claim to be comprehensive. They are merely a visualisation of the observations by the research team.

Kroonstad WWTW Kroonstad urban wastewater works plant is located in a meander of the Vals River on the northern river bank, south-west of the central business district. There are two systems in place: a relatively new activated sludge plant and an older trickling filter plant. The plant was visited on 5 October 2011. A senior operator and a shift operator provided a tour of the plant.

Process description From a single inlet pipe the water is distributed to the two plants. Activated sludge plant – The raw sewage enters the plant and goes through the first screen, where solids are removed. It then passes through another screening system and a grit chamber, where additional solid removal takes place. From there the pre-treated sewage is led into an aeration tank. Here a series of 3 mixers keeps the sewage mixed and a series of 6 aerators supply oxygen to the system creating an aerobic environment. By using the oxygen, micro-organisms can now break down the organic material in the wastewater (BOD decrease + pathogen removal). From the aeration tank sewage is led into the two secondary sedimentation tanks, where the solid phase (residual suspended solids and bacteria) and liquid phase are separated. Furthermore, these tanks are used to thicken the sludge before it is either wasted or returned into the aeration tank. Waste sludge is transferred to sludge dams. In a final stage the wastewater is treated with chlorine for disinfection (removal of all pathogens) before it is discharged into the Vals River. Trickling filter plant – The raw sewage passes through a screen, where solids are removed and through a grit chamber. It is then distributed into three primary settling tanks. Here suspended solids gravitate to the bottom of the tanks forming a layer of sludge, which is regularly removed. The pre-treated wastewater enters a division unit and is distributed to four trickling filter units. The micro-organisms that form a thin film on the packing material of those filters break down the organic compounds in the wastewater (BOD decrease). After this the treated sewage is led into three secondary sedimentation tanks. Remaining suspended solids (including bacteria) settles on the bottom and together with the sludge from the primary clarifiers, is transferred to four sludge digesters. In the digesters an anaerobic fermentation process treats sludge. The effluent from the secondary clarifiers is combined with the effluent of the activated sludge system and passes through a chlorination unit before it is discharged into the Vals River.

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Main characteristics Activated

Sludge Trickling Filter

Built in 1993 1950s

Maximum capacity

8 Ml/d

extendable to 16Ml/d GD = 10Ml/d

13 Ml/d

GD = 10Ml/d

Sludge handling

Sludge dams Digesters

Effluent treatment

Chlorination Originally Rapid Sandfilters (effluent went to power plant)

now Chlorination

Green Drop Rating

40.8% (91.3% Maximum Risk Rating)

Observations Neither of the plants is functional.

• Screens are not maintained. Automatic screens have been out of order since April 2011. Cleaning of screens by hand seems to take place only sporadically.

• De-sludging does not take place at trickling filter plant; consequently the secondary settling tanks are filled up with sludge and thus out of order (in this state since January 2011).

• Sludge recycling does not take place at activated sludge plant, resulting in an anoxic environment in the secondary settling tanks (in this state since January 2011) and an extreme build-up of sludge.

• Chlorination process is non-functional/ out of order. • Solids are buried on site at the river banks. • Pump stations throughout the town are out of order. Only an estimated 20% of wastewater is

currently arriving at the WWTP.

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Figure 11: Observed functionality of Kroonstad WWTW (Red cross = out of order: orange dash = not maintained) as observed on 2011/10/04

Oxidation ponds (old and new), Steynsrus

General information – What to expect The urban unit Steynsrus/Matlwangtlwang can discharge wastewater to two oxidation pond systems. Currently about 13 000 residents are connected to the central sewer system and the new oxidation ponds. About 800 houses are connected to the system, while a further 1 200 houses still need to be linked up. At one stage there were attempts at installing dry toilets, but the plan did not work well. Currently residents of Matlwangtlwang township, who are not connected to the water-based system, still have to rely on VIP-type toilets that do not work properly because of the rocky nature of the local soil.71

71. TOA OI2, 2011.10.05.

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Main characteristics Old New

Built in

Maximum capacity NI NI

Connection to TP Bucket system sewer

Sludge handling ? ?

Effluent treatment - -

Green Drop Rating 43% (88.9% Maximum Risk Rating)

Oxidation ponds are considered low cost, low maintenance systems. In general, a system of three ponds is in place. The pre-treated sewage (screening) enters the first pond. Normally the heavily organic loaded wastewater induces an anoxic environment (with no or very little oxygen concentration). This means that for the most part, anaerobic bacteria metabolises the organic material. In addition, sludge settles to the bottom. From the first pond the water flows into shallow, sometimes aerated, ponds. The pools are shallow to allow sunlight to filter through the water and wind to cause aeration (mixing). This encourages algae and aerobic bacteria to grow and these remove nutrients and faecal bacteria. The new oxidation ponds at Steynsrus follow this principle. The second pond is separated by a screen resulting in a dual-pond system.

Current functionality – what we saw Both systems are in a decrepit state. At the new oxidation ponds, influent bypasses screen, so that the first pond is loaded with solids.

• System is full. An “emergency” outlet at the first pond has been installed. Raw sewage, including solids, is spilling into a nearby field (vlei) and into the Jas-se Spruit.

• No operator was on site; only one security guard was present.

Figure 12: Functionality of Steynsrus WWTP: new Oxidation Ponds as observed on 2011/01/05 (Red cross = out of order, orange dash = not maintained)

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At the old oxidation ponds, buckets are emptied into the first pond, bypassing the screen (probably due to blockages). Consequently, the first pond is loaded with solids.

Work Environment Safety and Security At the new oxidation pond plant, the office/ recreation room for operators and security guards is not equipped. There are no chairs and no tables. Currently a crate and an overturned bucket are the only sitting options.

Wastewater treatment works, Viljoenskroon General information – What to expect Viljoenskroon wastewater treatment works is located approximately 1.5km north-west from the town centre and is based on an activated sludge system. There are two aeration tanks and three settling tanks. One aeration and one settling tank are part of an old system. Main characteristics Built in unknown

Maximum capacity 4.3 Mℓ/d 3.6-3.8Mℓ/d

Sludge handling Dry beds

Effluent treatment Chlorination??

Green Drop Rating 40.6% (83.3% Maximum Risk Rating)

Current functionality – What we observed • The wastewater treatment plant appeared to be operational. • However, there seems to be a problem with the second screen in the form of a blockage. The

system is flooding at this point and solids were being spilt in the immediate area. For the removed solids, two bins were provided.

• The returned activated sludge was fed into the system in makeshift manner. The designated system is apparently out of order.

• One of the two secondary settling tanks appeared to be out of order (partly overgrown and algae and duck weed are visible).

• In the operational settling tanks, bulking sludge was visible, indicating a partly anoxic state, and possibly a problem with sludge removal.

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Figure 13: Functionality of WWTP Viljoenskroon, as observed on 2011/10/06 (Red cross = out of order; orange dash = not maintained)

Vierfontein At the time of the visit to Vierfontein’s wastewater management plant, the installation was closed off. The operators had gone on lunch and the manager of the settlement’s water services did not have a key. However, members of the research group noted that the plant seemed to be in a good condition, although the grass on the site was long and had not been cut for some time. The plant’s inlets and outlets appeared to be in a good condition and the local drainage canals had been cleaned recently.

Where did the problems start? Moqhaka’s water supply and sanitation problems can be ascribed to a number of factors. There are essentially two perspectives on problem solving. The first is to consider the existing governance system and its inability to respond effectively to the demand for proper service delivery. The second is a socio-ecological perspective, in which the interaction between humans and the environment are of paramount importance in making an assessment of the prevailing circumstances. The people living in the area rely largely on the seasonal rainfall for the renewal of the region’s water supplies. In the case of a rapid over-supply in the short term (i.e. floods), emergency measures would typically include containing or preventing disaster-type consequences such as damage to humans and infrastructure. Attention would also be given to the improvement of storm water infrastructure. Such measures have to be introduced at very short notice. In the longer term, a variety of disaster risk reduction strategies would typically be introduced in a systematic and well-contemplated manner.72 In the case of drought conditions, where the seasonal rainfall is well below the average, long-term planning responses are necessary. There would for example be initiatives to create more water storage facilities and measures to conserve the available 72. Of particular importance in this context is the pro-active response of many metropolitan local

authorities in South Africa (notably those in the eastern and southeastern parts of the country), at systematically working out long-term strategies to mitigate the anticipated future erratic rainfall patterns using effective disaster management strategies.

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supplies such as implementing water restrictions; effective water demand management strategies; and the appropriate education of the local population on micro-water conservation. The contention in this discussion is that the current situation has been caused by a combination of poor governance and adverse climatic conditions. Collectively these have compounded to become problematic. The discourse on inadequate governance runs along the lines that it began in about 2000–2003.73 The transition to a new municipal government administration system of district and local municipal authorities appears to have been one of the broader underlying issues. Although black economic empowerment and the subsequent departure of skilled white officials from the municipality are important considerations, there are other important considerations. Significant institutional changes were the order of the day in the transition from local councils that had been operating in small to medium-sized urban areas such as Kroonstad, Viljoenskroon and Steynsrus. Furthermore, these local entities had enjoyed considerable autonomy. It was possible for local authorities and their resident populations to cultivate a sense of local patriotism. Immediate steps could be taken if the need arose to address service delivery problems. But with the political transition these urban nodes were absorbed into larger entities such as the Moqhaka Local Municipality and the even larger district municipality of FezileDabi. In the process, urban areas that had been established in the nineteenth and twentieth century were subjected to a socio-ecological change of identity and status. The change also brought about a distinct sense of loss of authority. Some urban centres merely became part of larger units of external administration and management. For example, Kroonstad, Viljoenskroon and Steynsrus, were now for all practical purposes managed – with financial allocations – from Sasolburg in the northern Free State. Apart from the ever-diminishing lines of communication and integration, there was a gradual collapse of effective governance in many of the long-established towns. This soon became aesthetically apparent in the general shabbiness of the environment. The local and regional media made much of the deterioration and suggested that local residents take up the matter to remedy the situation before it spiralled out of control. As things now stand, there is no meaningful bond between the taxpayers’ base and the local authority. Firstly, the residents are not only taxpayers but are obliged to pay municipal rates to an almost “invisible/formless” institution that is supposed to have capital resources from the revenue sources of central government. Because there is no direct link with the money that is readily available for local services and the development of local infrastructure, the concept of democratic representation is absent. Moreover, the funding allocations are distributed in such a manner that they are largely aimed at upliftment; maintenance of established areas is being neglected. Ordinary urban residents feel that an “invisible” authority is operating in some erratic style of distance control and these misgivings are deepened by the realisation that a significant portion of the local population – as a result of poverty and unemployment – makes no contribution at all in the form of rates and taxes. In other words, the cohesion and civic pride of local residents who pay for the right to be part of the local community and participate directly in the democratic process of electing their representatives to serve on the local municipal council, are absent. 74 Connectedness with the governance system is further negatively affected by the fact that voters have no direct say in who will stand for election to represent them. A lack of transparency on the part of political parties in

73. T de Wet, “Rivier vol riool en bloed: kommer oor Valsrivier wat ‘doodskis’ word” in Volkskas,

2007.09.20 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/09/20/VB/1/wekroo.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

74. See RD Russon, “Ten years of democratic local government elections in South Africa. Is the tide turning?” in Journal of African Elections, 10(1), June 2011, p. 75.

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identifying those who have been elected to serve the local residents, contributes to the unsatisfactory state of affairs that has evolved over the past decade. A second factor can be identified as contributing to the deterioration of water supply and sanitation, namely climatic conditions and the natural environment of the area. In the case of Moqhaka Local Municipality, it appears that such issues began to have a significant impact on service delivery in about 2004, at a time of a serious drought in the Free State. By January 2005 the drought had reportedly hit Moqhaka particularly hard. A complex and dynamic set of socio-ecological conditions then evolved to contribute to marked ‘collapse’ of technological infrastructure designed to bridge human-induced problems in the local aquatic environment. The urban areas of Kroonstad and Steynsrus that relied for their water supplies on the Vals River, were especially hard hit. The level of the Bloemhoek Dam sank to 17,6% and a combined operational group consisting of the department of defence and the Free State Province’s health department collaborated with the municipality to determine a plan of action. Indications were that if and when the dam’s levels dropped to 15%, water supply and sanitation to Kroonstad, Maokeng and Brent Park would be under severe strain and drop to the minimum. As an emergency measure, water restrictions were implemented and households were limited to 30Kℓ per month. A concerted effort was made at the time to ensure that boreholes be prepared to draw emergency supplies in some areas.75 By 2007 water restrictions were still in force in Moqhaka Local Municipality. In some towns, such as Matlwangtlwang (Steynsrus), there was even a sense of anger because ‘Kroonstad’s council’ had not yet done anything to install their new sanitation plant.76 Contingency plans contemplated by the municipal authority and its advisors included transporting water to Kroonstad in railway tankers from the neighbouring city of Welkom.77

75. T de Wet, “Ramptoestand kom dalk oor droogte” in Beeld, 2005.01.12, p. 5.

76. Anon., “Waterskaarste wek kommer” in Volksblad, 2007.08.21 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/08/21/KN/3/knlesothowater.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

77. T de Wet, “Ramptoestand dreig in Kroonstad-gebied: water dalk van Welkom per trein aangery” in Volksblad, 2005.01.12, p. 1.

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Figure 14 The Serfontein Dam. Photograph AS van Zyl

DA councillors pointed a finger at the management of the municipality who had not acted in 2003 to repair a faulty sluice on the Serfontein Dam wall when there were indications that the sluices were not fully functional. Although at the time the water in the dam was not vital to the city, DA spokesperson, Peter Frewen, argued that had the repairs been carried out, some form of management of the available water resources would have been possible. He pointed out that the Serfontein Dam had two 500kW motors that could pump water to the Bloemhoek Dam and in this way it would have been possible to pump sufficient water for three years into the large storage dam that relied on the Rhenoster River catchment for its supplies.78 Shortly afterwards, the government announced that drought relief support to the tune of R100 million would be made available to farmers in all parts of the country. Kroonstad and environs, according to the media, were expected to benefit from this funding.79 However, in January 2005 the water stress conditions subsided temporarily when good rains began to fall in the catchment of the Bloemhoek Dam.80 The Moqhaka Disaster Management Forum announced that the levels of the dam had risen to the extent that Kroonstad had sufficient water for nine months.81 In 2005, the total capacity of the dams supplying Kroonstad was 32 388Mℓ. 82 The capacity of the Bloemhoek Dam at the time was 26 188Mℓ.83 There was a degree of confidence amongst the local experts that the

78. T de Wet, “Kroonstad-waterkrisis weens wanbestuur – DA” in Volksblad, 2005.01.13, p. 2.

79. M Louw, “Reddingsbooi van R100m vir SA boere: regering gee ruim vir droogtehulp” in Volksblad, 2005.01.15, p. 1.

80. T de Wet, “Rëen bring verligting in Noord-Vrystaat” in Volksblad, 2005.01.22, p. 5.

81. H Jordaan, “Effense watertoename gee hoop” in Volksblad, 2005.02.01, p. 3.

82. These were the Serfontein, Grobler, Barend Wessels and Strydom Dams.

83. H Jordaan, “Effense watertoename gee hoop” in Volksblad, 2005.02.01, p. 3.

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available water supply was sufficient to see the city and environs through for at least the coming winter. However, it was not considered advisable to lift the water restrictions.

Figure 15 Flood weir of the Bloemhoek Dam. Photograph JWN Tempelhoff

With the drought issue averted, albeit temporarily, discontent was brewing in the region. Grievances were being voiced about ‘bad’ municipal service delivery in Kroonstad. Locals complained that officials were neglecting Matjabeng, Thabong, Hani Park and Bronville.84 Power outages seemed to top the bill of residents’ complaints.85 The national government, aware of the rising tide of local service delivery protests throughout the country, tried to stem the criticism. High profile political leaders were sent to speak to people at grassroots level. In February 2005, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, the then minister of communication, visited Kroonstad – the town of her birth. She told hundreds of people who attended an Imbizo in Constantia Park:

Sometimes people are ungovernable, because we made them ungovernable, but now we have to work together to make a success of municipalities.86

She gave an overview of the problems experienced countrywide in the local government sphere, saying for example, that residents complained that ward committees would not listen to the people’s concerns. Furthermore, there were calls from some to remove the current representatives. A solution

84. Correspondence: E Everton – Editor, “Mbeki would not be impressed” in Volksblad,

2005.02.03, p. 4.

85. Correspondence: E Everton – Editor, “Mbeki would not be impressed” in Volksblad, 2005.02.03, p. 4; Correspondence: C Scholtz, Swallows-woonstelle – Editor, “Onderbrekings grief huurders” in Volksblad, 2005.02.03, p. 4.

86. M Phillips, “Ivy vra samewerking vir munisipaliteite” in Volksblad, 2005.02.05, p. 2.

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had to be found to these issues. She went on to stress that it was required of residents to pay for the services they enjoyed from the municipality. She also admitted that certain of the plans that had been drawn up for Kroonstad had not been carried through. She singled out the need for toilets (in Matlwangtlwang) with water-borne sewerage that had still not been properly installed because the plans that had been drawn up years before, had ‘been lost’.87 In the month of the minister’s visit, Kroonstad’s low resilience to water stress was underlined when a national motorcycle rally was held in town and there were severe shortages. A local food retailing concern had to spend more than R1 000 on bottled water to prepare food and operate its bakery. Many households in the city had to resort to using buckets of water for toilets and washing purposes.88 A spokesperson for the municipality told the media that the electric motors of the pump station had been removed for repairs. 89 Complaints persisted. Residents were angered by the inadequate municipal service delivery and the uncivil way in which municipal officials communicated with them. There were complaints of blockages in the sewerage supply, the wastage of potable water coming from the purification plant, and burst water pipelines.90 The local municipality and its officials were increasingly seen in the public realm as being incompetent. Initiatives aimed at addressing residents’ problems seemed to be a futile exercise. In June 2005 repair work had started on the city’s pipeline system that transferred water from Grobler Dam to the Bloemhoek Dam. In an effort to respond to the calls of irate residents, the Moqhaka Council also approved funds for opening a complaints desk. A spokesperson for the council said that as many as 100 calls were made to the municipality reporting burst water pipelines and sewer blockages.91 Reports in the media frequently quoted residents’ grievances about service delivery that was poor and complaints that had not been addressed.92 In September 2005, experts issued a regional warning that raw sewage pollution was a ‘ticking time bomb’ in the Free State Province. Many towns in the province faced serious problems. Kroonstad’s Vals River was singled out as literally being ‘dead’ as a result of pollution. The experts explained that the WWTW’s pipeline system was no longer able to carry all the waste and that this was why there was an overflow of raw sewage into the river. Meanwhile, there was an ever-growing demand for more potable water supplies – a demand that it was impossible to meet. The rapid expansion of housing and development required more water connections in houses.93 The outcome was that as was happening in Parys (in the neighbouring Ngwathe Local Municipal area), Kroonstad’s raw wastewater was flowing – via the Vals River – into the Vaal River.94 In an editorial comment the daily newspaper, Volksblad, warned that if residents in the province did not want to commit public suicide, they should take hands and work collaboratively towards finding solutions to the persistent

87. M Phillips, “Ivy vra samewerking vir munisipaliteite” in Volksblad, 2005.02.05, p. 2.

88. T Geldenhuys, “Watertekort laat inwoners skarrel” in Volksbad Kroonnuus, 2005.03.08, p. 2.

89. T Geldenhuys, “Watertekort laat inwoners skarrel” in Volksbad Kroonnuus, 2005.03.08, p. 2.

90. Anon., “Swak, of liewer geen diens by waterwerke” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2005.03.15, p. 3. At the time, there were no disclosures on strike action by municipal workers. This factor should not be excluded in the contemplation of the incident of water supply shortfall.

91. Anon., “Herstelwerk aan pype bied dalk oplossing” in Volksblad, 2005.06.28, p. 3.

92. Anon., “Dié diens laat slegte reuk” in Volksblad, 2005.07.19, p. 01.

93. T de Wet, “Rioolwater word tydbom in VS” in Volksbad, 2005.09.15, p. 1.

94. T de Wet and M Phillips, “Owerhede keer blykbaar nie dreigende ramp” in Volksblad, 2005.09.22, p. 8.

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pollution of rivers in the vicinity.95 The DA in the Free State also stressed the urgent need to address the issue of water contamination in the rivers of the province.96 In September 2005, a report by the auditor-general, responsible for monitoring municipal finances, noted that exorbitant bonuses had been paid to top management officials, while some of the water infrastructure was still in a state of disrepair. Moreover, the auditor-general pointed out that 23 of the 38 councillors of Moqhaka were in arrears with the payment of their individual municipal rates and taxes accounts. There were also grave concerns about the accuracy of metering services for water and electricity and it was alleged that the council was losing significant revenue as a result of illegal electrical connections and water use that was by-passing the metering system.97 In October 2005, Kroonstad was one of 136 local authorities in South Africa that received support from the central government as part of the Project Consolidate initiative to step up and improve municipal service delivery. Mr Dirk du Toit, deputy minister of agriculture and land affairs, visited Kroonstad for an imbizo and told residents that money had been made available to improve services in Kroonstad and those in Viljoenskroon where funds were earmarked specifically to upgrade the sewerage network in Constantia and Gelukwaarts. Additional funds had been set aside to rehabilitate the Bloemhoek Dam.98 More good news followed in January 2006, when it was disclosed that the Voorspoed Diamond Mine situated between Kroonstad and Viljoenskroon was to resume operation.99 Fears that it was unwise to re-commence mining and other industrial activity in the light of drought conditions that might cause water stress were allayed by the disclosure that most of the water used by the mining would be sourced from the Koppies Dam. 100 There was also a tacit understanding that the municipality of Kroonstad was scheduled to provide the mine with additional water.101 For the local municipality the mining activity meant more job opportunities for local residents in a region where jobs in the industrial sector were limited. The prospects for Kroonstad’s water infrastructure started looking up when in May 2006 it was reported that the Bloemhoek Dam was receiving its supplies from the Grobler Dam. A new pump had been installed to speed up the pumping capacity. The two existing pumps that had been doing all the work each had a thrust of 600kW, while the new pump had a pumping capacity of 950kW. Collectively, the pumps could typically pump 432Mℓ of water per day to the Bloemhoek Dam.102 95. Editorial comment, “Openbare selfmoord” in Volksblad, 2005.09.16, p. 8.

96. J van Wyk, “VS word ‘stink poel’ van riool wat gestort word” in Volksblad, 2005.10.20, p. 2.

97. Anon., “Raad gaan die dorp regruk” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2005.09.27, p. 1.

98. M Phillips, “Munisipaliteite in VS deur afvaardiging besoek: deel van munisipale imbizo-fokusweek” in Volksblad, 2005.10.03, p. 8; Anon., “Services improved” in Volksblad Express, 2007.10.12-14, p. 1.

99. J van Wyk, “Voorspoed-diamantmyn heropen” in Volksblad, 2006.02.18 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2006/01/19/VB/1/jgdebeers.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

100. The negative spin-off of this arrangement was that it literally brought to an end irrigation farming operations in the vicinity of Koppies. Apart from contributing to a growing threat to food security, it also meant that a large number of farm workers who had previously had an income, were now left destitute.

101. J van Wyk, “Voorspoed-diamantmyn heropen” in Volksblad, 2006.02.18 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2006/01/19/VB/1/jgdebeers.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

102. T Geldenhuys, “Dis water, net waar jy kyk” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2006.05.16 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2006/05/16/KN/3/knpomp.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

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By early 2007, after a new municipal manager, Mr Mokete Duma, assumed responsibility for Moqhaka LM, it appeared that he was fully aware of the prevailing water stress. He promised that his administration would focus on water service delivery. He singled out the need to replace many of the old and worked-out water and sewer pumps in the Kroonstad area. He was even prepared to use money allocated for other purposes.103 At the time the town’s water supplies were beginning to run low because residents increasingly used the water supply to tend their gardens in the face of a serious heat wave.104 Along with what was potentially a serious water supply shortage, the municipal manager’s staff also soon had to contend with leaking sewers. In August 2007, Mr Danie Brink, a member of the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) complained about the bad smell of leaking sewers on the north bank of the Vals River in a public park with a children’s play area. He told the media that he had reported the matter to the municipal manager the previous month, but nothing had come of it.105 Soon reports in the media hinted at a ‘raw sewerage chain’ along the banks of the Vals River in Kroonstad. Suburban residents in Brent Park were angry about the apathetic attitude of Moqhaka Municipality to address the sewage matter. At a nearby school the smell was virtually intolerable and there were indications that cattle were dying after drinking the raw sewage water.106 In what clearly appeared to be a time of water stress the municipal manager came under severe public criticism. Partially in response to the attacks he had been exposed to, Duma told the media that the former ‘apartheid government’ had installed steel and asbestos pipes in the Rammulotsi/ Viljoenskroon region of the Moqhaka. The pipes were old and in a state of disintegration. The municipality, on instructions from the current government, was only prepared to install PVC pipes. In response to media questioning, he then admitted that there were a ‘number’ of vacant posts in the waterworks division of Viljoenskroon because the municipality had recently fired a number of employees whose work ethic had been below par. However, the municipality’s officials were working on the problems that had arisen. Duma explained that it was estimated that the waterworks in Viljoenskroon would cost about R11 million to repair. An amount of R30million had been set aside for this and the necessary work in Kroonstad.107 The vague promises of future action and development of infrastructure did not quell the growing discontent among Kroonstad’s residents. On 20 September 2007, the Vals River passing through the city, was described as a ‘coffin’, carrying the carcasses of dead animals and quantities of raw sewage. There were even traces of raw blood in the river, presumably from a local abattoir. For very obvious reasons, all sporting activities in the river had come to a halt.108

103. T Geldenhuys, “Nuwe bestuurder fokus op waterprobleme” in Volksblad Kroonnuus,

2007.02.20 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/02/20/KN/9/knwater.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

104. Anon., “Waterbeperkings op Kroonstad strenger” in Volksblad, 2007.02.27 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/02/27/VB/4/wewater.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

105. T Geldenhuys, “Damme riool ’n skande” in Volkslad Kroonnuus, 2007.08.21, p. 1.

106. T Geldenhuys, “Inwoners keelvol vir stank van riool” in Kroonnuus, 2007.09.18 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/09/18/KN/3/knbrentpark.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

107. T Geldenhuys, “Water ‘ondrinkbaar’” in Volokisblad Kroonnuus, 2007.09.18 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/09/18/KN/1/knvilwater.html (accessed 2011.10.14).

108. T de Wet, “Rivier vol riool en bloed: kommer oor Valsrivier wat ‘doodskis’ word” in Volksblad 2007.09.20 at

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A heated public argument began between a FF+ councillor and the municipal manager, because he had seen fit to put the blame for the parlous state of affairs on the shoulder of the former ‘apartheid’ government.109 The public acrimony was hardly conducive to an atmosphere of civility in Kroonstad. A spokesperson for the municipality took opposition political parties to task for reporting the situation to the press before discussing matters with the relevant municipal structures.110 The DA ignored the advice; one of its councillors argued that at least the hue and cry in the press had brought some improvement to the system – for the first time in many years.111 It is uncertain to what extent the public debate on critical issues of municipal water and sanitation infrastructure in Kroonstad was influenced by political developments on the national level. It is however safe to assume that opposition parties were well aware of emerging differences of opinion in ANC-controlled national structures, with the leadership preparing for the Polokwane national conference scheduled for December 2007.112 The crisis of local water stress that coincided with the onset of the drought of 2004 thus became part of a more comprehensive unfolding political contest. The political leadership’s approach towards the public appeared to be one of reconciliation when in December 2007, the municipality’s financial division issued conciliatory notices to the public appealing to them to start paying their arrears if they received letters of demand from the municipalities of Steynsrus, Kroonstad and Viljoenskroon. The municipality was prepared to discuss matters if and when people were of the opinion that they had been overcharged, or if they were – as indigents – utterly unable to pay for service delivery.113 The message conveyed to the public only told half the story. The municipality had meanwhile appointed a Sandton-based firm of debt collectors to help recover outstanding revenue. The trade union COSATU meanwhile expressed its disdain with this arrangement.114 It implied that local jobs were being given to ‘outside’ people. On the ground level of municipal operations a sense of logic prevailed despite the intense local political ferment. Despite good rains in September 2007 the water sector management of Moqhaka

http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/09/20/VB/1/wekroo.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

109. Correspondence, J Hattingh, Kroonstad – Editor, “Dink weer Duma” in Volksblad, 2007.09.25 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/09/22/KN/4/knjean.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

110. T Geldenhuys, “’DA must stop criticising’” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2007.10.09 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/10/09/KN/3/knsewer.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

111. Correspondence: T Grimbeeck, Kroonstad – Editor, “Probleme het jare lank geduur” in Kroonnuus, 2007.10.16 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/10/16/KN/4/knthabo.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

112. In the aftermath, President Thabo Mbeki resigned and was succeeded by Mr Kgalema Mothlante (as an interim president). In the subsequent run-up to the national elections, the Congress of the People (Cope) was formed as opposition party. By May 2009 President Jacob Zuma became president of the country.

113. T Geldenhuys, “Refer queries to offices” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2007.12.11 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/12/11/KN/6/knMMS.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

114. T Geldenhuys, “Inwoners ontstoke” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2007.12.11 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/12/11/KN/3/knoptog.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

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did not advise the council to lift the water restrictions. In response to media inquiries, the acting technical manager of the Kroonstad water purification works, Mr Hennie Rautenbach, reiterated:

Water restrictions are here to stay. Residents are hereby urged to learn a culture of water conservation.115

By January 2008 the council once again asked residents to use water sparingly in view of the countrywide power outages. This state of affairs had a direct impact on Moqhaka Local Municipality. Kroonstad’s water purification plant was unable to process large quantities of water and the pump stations for the sewers were inoperative. Furthermore, water supplies could not be pumped to the municipality’s storage dams,116 so there were sound reasons for authorities not to lift water restrictions in February 2008, despite good rainfall in the region.117

Synthesising poor governance and weather/climate as causes of water-related problems In answering the question posed above on the origin of water-related problems in Moqhaka in recent times, it is necessary to take cognisance of deep history. Historians of Africa are always mindful of low average rainfall when they interpret the continent’s history. There are many discourses that suggest that because of limited alternative water sources there is an extraordinary reliance on rainfall in sub-Saharan Africa. Indeed this is a phenomenon that can be traced back in the continent’s history, up to the time of the great migrations of early humankind from Africa to Eurasia.118 Unlike Europe, with its far higher average annual rainfall, Africa’s human inhabitants depend to a considerable extent on rainfall. Drought and famine feed into our understanding of people and their innovative ability to survive on a continent that is hard on its people. As the highway billboard puts it: Africa is not for sissies. Rainfall is the magic word on which many societies depend for their survival. This lesson of African natural history can be linked directly to our understanding of conditions in Moqhaka Local Municipality in the Free State Province. Since the 1980s, with the gradual lifting of urban influx control measures by the former government and aborted plans to introduce comprehensive local municipal government in the former African townships of the country, spontaneous processes of human migration have been the order of the day in many parts of southern Africa. In the history of South Africa human migrations, since the eighteenth century, have been powerful forces shaping the course of history. The migrations known as the Difaqane and the Great Trek prove the point. We know that shifting human populations create circumstances of demographic change that influence socio-ecological conditions. The growing stream of urbanisation as rural South Africans moved to the urban areas, and later from across the country’s borders in the 1990s, opened the floodgates for significant demographic change in Moqhaka LM. Also of particular importance was the new national labour policy and legislation aimed at improving the conditions of farm labourers in all parts of the country. 115. T Geldenhuys, “Waterbeperkings hier om te bly – munisipaliteit” in Volksblad Kroonnuus,

2007.12.11 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/12/11/KN/2/knwaterbeperk.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

116. M Phillips, “Kroonstad het waterprobleme weens kragonderbrekings” in Volksblad, 2008.01.18 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2008/01/18/VB/2/wewater.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

117. Anon., “Kroonstad-waterbeperkings dalk verlig” in Volksblad, 2008.02.04 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2008/02/04/VB/5/wewate.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

118. The most recent author to expand on this is Francis Fukuyama, in The origins of political order: from pre-human times to the French Revolution (Profile Books Limited, London, 2011), p. 90.

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As farmers began to reduce their workforce, large numbers of unemployed rural Africans drifted to the towns and cities of South Africa. In the Free State many chose to move to places such as Kroonstad, Viljoenskroon and Steynsrus where there were prospects of receiving reconstruction and development programme (RDP) housing from the government. Some of the new urban residents continued to work for farmers and commuted daily between their homes and workplace. Others increasingly gained access to government grants for indigent peoples. It was then possible to lead a fairly secure and comfortable life in their new urban surroundings. However, migration trends and population growth remained a multi-layered problem that constantly transformed and shaped the socio-ecological texture of the urban areas under the jurisdiction of Moqhaka Local Municipality. An example is the phenomenon of informal settlements on private property.

The Grootvadersbosch settlement A case in point is the informal settlement on the farm Grootvadersbosch. This privately-owned land, situated on the banks of the Vaal River in the north-eastern parts of Moqhaka, is close to a comprehensive gold mining area, currently operated by Anglo Gold Ashanti mining company. Apparently, the settlement, primarily of women and children was formed by one Mr Simon Sidwell, presumably as early as the 1980s. According to the manager, the farm’s current owners, operating as a trust, purchased Grootvadersbosch in the 1990s. The intention was to start cattle farming operations on the land.119

Figure 16 Interior of a shack at Grootvadersbosch. Some structures in the settlement accommodate more than two families. (Photograph JWN Tempelhoff)

The previous owner of Grootvadersbosch gave Sidwell the right to allow women, most of them originally from Lesotho, to build makeshift dwellings on small, informally demarcated plots of land. The women made a living from producing home-brewed beer, prostitution and shebeen-related activities on the property. The population of the settlement soon increased and at one stage in the

119. TOA OI2, 2011.10.06.

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1990s there were more than 100 families resident on Grootvadersbosch. Each tenant paid the property owner a monthly rent of R150 per structure. A social lifestyle of weekend drinking, partying and crime evolved as large numbers of migrant workers from the nearby gold mines frequented Grootvadersbosch over weekends. Police conducted frequent raids there to locate stolen property. There were even reports of people being murdered in the settlement. Evidently the police were unable to make arrests in some cases.120 In 1998, when the new owners of the property took control of the land they asked Sidwell, who was a man of high standing in the settlement, to insist that the people vacate the land. Sidwell agreed to help them. Then he was killed. Many of the women, for whom Grootvadersbosch had become the only place outside Lesotho they could call home, refused to move away. Some residents had even been born on the property and the new generation of residents passionately clung to the land and the conditions of abject squalor under which community members had been living since the 1980s. Few of these people have legal South African identity documentation.121

Figure 17 Groundwater is pumped manually from a local borehole for domestic consumption by residents of Grootvadersbosch. (Photograph JWN Tempelhoff)

Currently there are about 15 dwellings on Grootvadersbosch. Many of the residents cleared out spontaneously and there have been concerted efforts by the farm manager, on behalf of the trust, as well as officials of the department of home affairs in Sasolburg, to remove the remaining residents off the land. The owners have even removed some old farm structures but a few residents have tenaciously clung to their shacks. They even managed to get their own legal advice, through the offices of well-placed politicians. At one stage the people were even provided with old army tents for accommodation when their shacks were demolished. Officials of the provincial department of home affairs in Bloemfontein have meanwhile also been implicated in the tussle between the women in the

120. TOA OI2, 2011.10.06.

121. TOA OI2, 2011.10.06.

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settlement and the property owner. Some tents are occupied by two or more families. The indigenous trees on the land are systematically being cut down to provide energy; this is used along with dry cattle dung that is collected and stockpiled outside the dwellings. There is one borehole in the settlement with a makeshift hand pump. Water is stored in plastic containers that obviously do not comply with health and sanitary requirements. There is a single temporary, longdrop toilet, a short distance from the settlement, which is seldom used by the locals. According to the farm manager they prefer to make use of open spaces some distance from their dwellings.122 At the time of the research group’s fieldwork visit to Grootvadersbosch in October 2011, both the manager and the local residents were interviewed. The women, many now middle aged, were not forthcoming with information. They indicated that they were not interested in communicating. The farm manager, on the other hand, expressed his frustrations that despite every effort the dispute had been ongoing since the late 1990s and could not be resolved amicably. For the Moqhaka Local Municipality’s municipal health practitioners the situation has become a matter of grave concern. They have serious reservations about the environmental health of the local water supply, the unacceptable sanitary conditions and the clear threat the current situation is creating for human health in the region.123

Figure 18 Cow dung and wood cut from endemic indigenous trees provide the necessary energy to make fires at Grootvadersbosch. (Photograph JWN Tempelhoff)

There are many settlements similar to Grootvadersbosch elsewhere in mining and industrial areas of the Northern Free State. They are symptomatic of migrations that date back many years. Settlements of this nature are now part of the causality of an evolving South African demography shaped by migration. What would typically, in former times have been the evolutionary growth of urban nodes of human settlement, are currently disorganised settlements under conditions of

122. TOA OI2, 2011.10.06.

123. TOA OI2, 2011.10.06.

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unhygienic neglect with few prospects of positive development. Contemplated from the perspective of the basic human need for water and proper sanitation, the prospects are dismal for people living in remote informal settlements. In the urban areas the picture is somewhat different. Existing macro water technology has proved unable to meet the growing demand for additional water supplies. Urban areas dating back to the pre-1994 period had infrastructure installed with the ostensible purpose of serving a white minority population which had shifted into the decline phase of South African demographic growth by the late 1960s. In the 1980s a major inflow of people to a city like Kroonstad and smaller towns like Steynsrus and Viljoenskroon meant that local authorities were unable to cope with the rapid demand for more comprehensive water and sanitation services. Although there was evidence that especially in the Free State, previously disadvantaged people experienced an improvement in infrastructure services such as water supply in the RDP-era (1994–9), 124 it was not primarily because the infrastructure itself had been improved or expanded; it merely meant that the services originally developed for a limited number of local residents had been extended well beyond their capacity. If it had indeed been improved post-1994, the upgrade was well below expectations and could not respond to the ever-increasing demand. Thus, by 2004 when the regional drought set in, the environment retaliated in the face of the never-ending human demand for more water. Although water is a renewable natural resource, its ability to reproduce itself in the form of rainwater to fill local storage dams to the satisfaction of all and sundry, proved to be too steep a challenge. It was simply a matter of technology-over use and the unwillingness of water consumers to heed the messages of stress in nature.125 In response to the question initially asked about where Kroonstad’s water-related problems began, there seems to be a sound case for the consequences of drought conditions caused by an abnormally low annual rainfall. This was exacerbated by a significant population migration that saw many new residents moving into the Moqhaka municipal area. It is generally accepted that the use of appropriate engineering technologies should make it possible for the residents and industries of Moqhaka Local Municipality to lead a comfortable life despite limited water supplies. However, this requires of the local government and all its stakeholders (residents, industries and commerce) to be frugal in their water use and be aware of strategies of sustainable water use. Even more important is the need for a deep-seated sense of taking great care of ‘invisible’ water and sanitation infrastructure. Maintenance, conservation, civic discipline, responsibility and constant civil society awareness, are key ingredients that have to be understood and applied in urban communities. Where people live together in close proximity a code of proper civil conduct and mutual respect for others is of paramount importance.

124. MK Khosa, “Infrastructure and service delivery in South Africa, 1994-99” in S Parnell, E

Pieterse, M Swilling and D Wooldridge (eds.), Democratising local government: the South African experiment, ([First edition 2002], University of Cape Town Press, Landsdowne, [reprint] 2007), pp. 149-50.

125. J McCann, “Climate and the causation of African history” in The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 32(2/3), 1999, pp. 261-279; F Cooper, Africa since 1940: the past of the present (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002), p. 98; R Austen, African economic history: internal development and external dependency (James Currey, London, 1987), pp. 10-17; AL Mabonguje, “Historical geography: economic aspects” in J Ki-Zerbo (ed.) General history of Africa 1: methodology and African prehistory (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, and Heinemann Educational Publishers, Paris and London, 1981), pp. 344-6.

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Mentalities and the human condition: water and environmental health In this section the focus is on the mentalities that manifest in Moqhaka Local Municipality as a result of the socio-ecological environment in respect of the aquatic environment. It is an extension of environmental health, but focuses more directly on some of the apparent mindsets that prevail under given circumstances. It should also be contemplated as an essential part of the socio-ecological circumstances in which a regional society finds itself and potentially unknowingly functions in living their daily lives. Mentalité French social scientists in the twentieth century focused extensively on the phenomenon of mentalities. In brief, a mentality is a prevailing state of mind that evolves over an extended period of time in human communities. Mentality is a way of thinking that shapes the behaviour of individuals and groups of people. Although, in certain societies mentality is considered a derogatory term, it is more usually associated with the mental processes within communities that manifest in many of their actions. Mentality is influenced by assumptions about truth and tradition. It is an extension of the customs people observe. Rites, ceremonies, symbolic acts and forms of religious worship can also be interpreted as forming part of a mentality. Mentality can be interpreted as a medium or agency for comprehending how human communities think and respond to events in their daily lives. French historians have done extensive research into pre-modern and pre-industrial and modernising societies in the history of Europe. Phillipe Ariès (1914–1984), a member of the Annales School of French historians is considered one of the outstanding exponents of histoire des mentalities.126 This approach to history has been applied in many outstanding studies of modernist histories and continues to be a popular field of investigation.127 Mentalité de déconnexion Contemplated from a micro level a contemporary mentalité appears to apply to residents in Moqhaka Local Municipality. When they reflect on their local water services their mindset, is one of disconnectedness – mentalité de déconnexion. For example, a person residing in one of Moqhaka’ suburban centres described the town as ‘broken and increasingly becoming more broken’.128 Another described the Vals River – an important element of the urban landscape in Kroonstad – as a veritable ‘coffin, carrying the carcasses of dead animals and raw sewage’.129 Statements of this nature suggest that in sectors of the local community there are traces of a mentality that transmits mental messages of a social-ecological disconnectedness between humans and the environment in which they find

126. GG Iggers, Historiography in the twentieth century: from scientific objectivity to the

postmodern challenge, ([1997], Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, 2005) pp. 60; T Staianovich, “Ariès, Phillipe” in J Cannon, RHC Davis, W Doyle and JP Greener (eds), The Blackwell dictionary of historians (Blackwell Reference, Oxford, 1988) pp. 18-19.

127. For a comprehensive exposition of the historiographical work in the field, see J le Goff, History and memory, translated by S Rendell and E Claman (Columbia University Press, New York, 1992), pp. 127-152. Le Goff, a medievalist of the Annales School, is also considered to be a leading exponent of histoire des mentalities.

128. Quote: “Kroonstad is stukkend en raak net al hoe meer stukkend.”, cited in J Brits, “Stryd om ‘stukkende’ Kroonstad na hof” in Volksblad, 2011.04.13 at http://www.volksblad.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Stryd-om-stukkende-Kroonstad-na-hof-20110412 (Accessed 2011.10.13).

129. T de Wet, “Rivier vol riool en bloed: kommer oor Valsrivier wat ‘doodskis’ word” in Volksblad, 2007.09.20 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2007/09/20/VB/1/wekroo.html (Accessed 2011.10.14).

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themselves. It speaks of a deep-seated sense of trauma. Under such conditions, residents experience low morale, a sense of loss, and a lack of cohesion and local patriotism. This, in turn has a direct bearing on simple decencies. People lose self-respect, dignity and there are low levels of civility and good-neighbourliness – all typical attributes one would expect in the rural areas of the country. South Africa’s worldwide reputation as a friendly and hospitable society stems from this same societal togetherness. Yet, they go on living their lives as if dazed by the realities of the environment in which they find themselves. They try to live through chaos and disorientation in an effort to give meaning to what they do every day. What we have here is a form of trauma, similar to that experienced by an individual in the throes of trying to recover from a nervous breakdown. A good example of this type of mentality is outlined in TS Elliot’s The Waste Land (1922), considered one of the important pieces of modernist poetry of the twentieth century. Elliott wrote the poem as a therapeutic intervention for a person recovering from a nervous breakdown. The way he describes the environment, the setting in which people find themselves; the overpowering sense of loss; and the inability to connect with other people and the environment in which s(he) is living, is a reflection on a human condition that presents itself in many different variants in contemporary South African society. It is contended in this study that a mentality, similar to that described by Elliott, manifests itself in the community of Moqhaka Local Municipality as a result of the socio-ecological and accompanying environmental health conditions in the local water sector. Mentalité de l'idéalisme ironique There is also another mentality that presents itself in Moqhaka. It is evident in the management of the local water supply and sanitation sector and its infrastructure and shows itself in conversations with municipal officials. It is representative of the vivid but intensely human condition that comes with an awareness of a state of collapse, for example in the local water sector, in the mindset of workers who idealistically would like to produce the best end product. Ironically this ideal is seldom realised. This mentality is best described by novelist John Steinbeck in, for example, the text of his novels Cannery Row130 and Sweet Thursday,131 that tell the story of Dr Ed Rickett, a marine biologist of Monterey, California.132 It is the story of the human experience of degradation and collapse, with the ever-yearning hope that the situation will change to one of vibrancy. The people working in the water purification and sanitation institutions live their everyday lives, sometimes with a sense of passion to perform the task. Then comes the realisation that they are unable to produce the required end product in the form of clean drinking water or treated wastewater. What appears on the outside as carelessness, oversight and neglect is more than often the result of external factors such as an under supply of the proper chemicals and reliable equipment and the inability of sectoral management to be responsive to the needs of the workers in the workplace. The situation is worsened by the frustrations of external interventions such as those by trade unions that are insensitive to local conditions. Collectively the resulting emotions in the hearts and minds of water workers is a mental cocktail of ironic idealism (mentalité de l'idéalisme ironique). Some of these workers have been employed in the water services divisions of the local authority for a long time. Many remember the good times, when supply was sufficient and service was ‘outstanding’ – more than often in the era before 1994. But now things have unravelled. Employees work from day to day, sometimes to just to pass the time; other times they work in response to external pressure that requires them to respond to the people around them and the technology they are using, in unusual 130. J Steinbeck, Cannery Row ([c. 1945] The Viking Press, New York, 1986).

131. J Steinbeck, Sweet Thursday (Heinemann, London, 1954).

132. For a musical rendition of the mentality see The Black Irish Group’s rendition of the Song “Sweet Thursday” (Cannery Row theme for “Doc”) by P Karnahan on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8Xmu93aVeM. (Accessed 2011.12.29).

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ways. It is an existential condition that is ironic to the extent that in some contexts the observer sees the humour in many of the everyday things being done. Simultaneously there are overtones of intense sadness. The observer’s heart goes out to the suffering of these individuals who are trying their level best to lead a meaningful life under circumstances of squalor, collapse and hopelessness.

Figure 19 The Morewag pump station and telemetric control point in Kroonstad that was in a state of disarray in October 2011. (Photograph M Ginster)

An example of this mentality in this particular research project is seen in Steynsrus, a small settlement under the jurisdiction of Moqhaka Local Municipality, with a population of about 13 000 residents. It is situated in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountain range. A senior local municipal official, in describing the current situation, explained:

In 1999 the town suddenly collapsed.133

He then outlined how local businesses began to close down and local residents chose to make use of schools and other basic services in neighbouring towns. Underlying this state of loss, there was still an idealism of ‘if only our water supplies could be improved’. His observations dovetail with a news

133. JTOI 20111001 Interview 02. Quote translated from Afrikaans: “In 1999 het die dorpie skielik

gevou. Dit was toe hulle ons skool [hier ’n model C skool gemaak het]. Hierdie skool het ons [ook die kerk] aan die gang gehou. Mense het gese hulle kinders bly nie hier in die skool nie. Hulle het hulle kinders na skole in die dorp geneem. Mense het toe ook hulle besighede op ander dorpe gaan doen. In 2001 het [die bank] deure toegemaak. 2005 het [die kooperasie] toegemaak. Vanaf 2001 het ons nie meer banke gehad nie. [Een instelling] het toe steeds ’n agentskap gehad. Vir meer as ’n jaar het ons nou net ’n [bank].”

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report of 2009,134 and with the observations jotted down by a member of the CuDyWat research team in October 2011,135 when making disclosures about an official responsible for the water purification plant in Steynsrus being drunk on the job.136

Figure 20 Steynsrus municipal offices. (Photograph S Berner)

It is the mindset of mentalité de déconnexion experienced by the water services user and that of mentalité de l'idéalisme ironique experienced by the water worker in Moqhaka’s municipal area, that are representative of the manner in which people lead their lives in interaction with their local environment. Mentalité de la condition humaine Ultimately the discussion above underlines the fragility of the condition humaine (human condition) so aptly described by Arendt.137 We come to realise how fragile we are as ordinary human beings, 134. D Kok, “Waterfiskaal toe ‘etensuur’ in sy sjebien” in Volksblad, 2009.12.30 at

http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/12/30/VB/2/dkwater.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

135. Personal disclosure to JWN Tempelhoff by a member of the research team who visited the water purification plant at Steynsrus on 5 October 2011.

136. There is evidence of similar complaints about the water sector in Steynsrus in a media report of 2009. See D Kok, “Waterfiskaal toe ‘etensuur’ in sy sjebien” in Volksblad, 2009.12.30 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/12/30/VB/2/dkwater.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

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when contemplated against the backdrop of coming to grips with our long evolutionary history as amphibians focused on leading resilient lives in a hydrosphere where the essential life-giving source of water requires constant care.

Moqhaka Local Municipality’s hydrosphere from the perspective of environmental health For the purposes of this discussion the focus is firstly on the hydrosphere and the way it manifests in our understanding of environmental health in the area of jurisdiction of Moqhaka Local Municipality.

Figure 21 The water cycle 138

The hydrosphere is a term used in our understanding of the environmental system. In the natural realm, this involves scientific attempts to comprehend the interactions of the biotic and abiotic elements in the world’s atmosphere (air); biosphere (living organisms); cryosphere (ice); pedosphere (soil); lithosphere (rock); and importantly in this project, the hydrosphere (water). From a local perspective, the focus is on the way an ecosystem functions in a local environmental system.139 An ever-present driver for understanding the local water ecological system is the hydrological cycle, a holistic conceptual theory that was known to the Chinese as long ago as the fourth century BCE, 137. H Arendt, The human condition (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1958).

138 Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of SIL and Water Resources, “Images hydrological cycle” at http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/portals/7/aimages/misc/hydcycle.jpg (Accessed 2011.11.06).

139. See category “Environmental System” in C Park, A Dictionary of Environment and Conservation, Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of North West Library. 4 November 2011 at http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t244.e2636 ; J McNeill, Something new under the sun: an environmental history of the twentieth-century world (Penguin Books, London, 2000), pp. 149-191.

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and further developed since the era of the European Renaissance140 to account for the manner in which water, as a renewable natural resource, constantly transforms itself and is influenced by, for example, drought and flood conditions, as well as human interventions, to the extent that it influences the way we experience water in our everyday lives. In the discussion to follow under separate rubrics, the intention is for the reader, based on the background information disclosed thus far, to understand how some important stakeholders, including politicians, local residents and business people, perceive the state of affairs in respect of water and sanitation services. This should provide us with a better understanding of the environmental health of Moqhaka Local Municipality’s residents.

140. P Consigli, Water pure and simple: the infinite wisdom of an extraordinary molecule (Watkins

Publishing, London, 2008), pp. 9, 52; V Kotwicki, “Water in the universe” in Hydrological Sciences Journal, 36(1), 1991, pp. 49-50 (of pp. 49-66).

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Perceptions of political role players Members of the research group were given the opportunity on the first week of October 2011 to conduct informal interviews with three Moqhaka councillors. Interestingly, the councillors interviewed at the municipal offices in Kroonstad were all from the ruling ANC; no councillors representing other political parties participated. Prior to this, a brief encounter took place on 3 October with a councillor in Constantia Park who apparently had not been informed that the research team would be visiting the suburb.141 Another member of the research team met a ward councillor, quite co-incidentally, in Steynsrus on 5 October, who briefed her on the state of affairs. The councillor was clearly well-informed. For example, she was able to discuss in a detailed manner some of the problems experienced at the local water purification works in terms of insufficient storage capacity and the shortcomings of the local sanitation infrastructure.142 On 5 October, interviews were conducted with the three councillors at the Moqhaka Local Municipal offices. The members of the research team were told that councillors were not always properly schooled or educated in the work they were responsible for doing. Furthermore, many councillors were unable to put politics aside when they engaged with their municipal responsibilities. The councillors found their managing and organising tasks most challenging.143 The structure of the municipality, according to one of the more senior councillors, presented specific problems in that there were four directors heading different divisions. There were also concerns that as soon as people had learnt to work with each other on certain problem areas, the responsible manager’s contract period would come to an end. This prevented continuity and experience (an institutional memory) from being kept within the municipal system of governance.144 In addition, there were frequent communication breakdowns between departments within the municipality. One department would not know what the other was doing and this impacted negatively on service provision. While one member of the mayoral committee (MMC) was of the opinion that funds, for example, had been exhausted for water works, (s)he would not necessarily be aware of other available sources of funding. This was simply as a result of the lack of communications between divisions.145 Another problem that emerged was that there were concerns about the council appointing more managers than were necessary, instead of employing workers to do the work at the coalface. The senior councillor explained that if a person left the service of the municipality or retired, an appropriately qualified person would not fill that specific vacant post. Instead the tendency was to ‘fill up posts’ at a ‘managerial’ level. In effect the municipality was faced with a situation that there was a decreasing number of workers to do the physical work at a lower, but vitally important level. It was a matter of too many chiefs and not enough Indians. The councillor spoke of a ‘top heavy’ structure that took on the appearance of a ‘reversed pyramid’ It was upside down. She was of the opinion that something had to be done about the matter because it lay at the heart of the problem of the shortage of practical skills in municipal departments.146

141. The members of the team had been taken to some sites in Constantia Park by members of

Gatvol Kroonstad.

142. MMOI 3, 2011.10.05.

143. MIMPA 11, 2011.10.05.

144. MIMPA 11, 2011.10.05.

145. MIMPA 11, 2011.10.05.

146. MIMPA 11, 2011.10.05; TOA, OI5, 2011.10.05.

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Two MMCs were also interviewed. One said that he was aware of the deteriorating sewer infrastructure. The council was too. They were also aware that the infrastructure was more than 50 years old; the municipality had inherited the situation from the previous government. Financially the municipality was unable to repair the infrastructure, because there was an over-reliance on MiG funds147 to undertake work of that magnitude.148 He was of the opinion that R6 million was immediately needed to upgrade the water supply and sanitation infrastructure. There was simply not that much money available. The reasons for this was that residents did not pay their rates and taxes accounts and most were unemployed. The majority of the people in the local municipality were literally registered as indigent people.149 He argued that the municipality’s primary task was to try and secure houses and jobs for the people.150 According to him, water and sanitation services were of secondary importance.151 The irony was that the councillor interviewed was the MMC specifically responsible for the technical department. It was also clear from the interviews that councillors’ perspectives of the public and why ‘things going wrong in the municipality’ might well be at variance from some generally accepted views. When one of the councillors, an MMC, was asked about reports to the effect that the mayor of Moqhaka had to flee from Maokeng one evening because local residents were expressing their angered over power outages, the MMC argued that it was not the case. It was a ‘fabrication’ by the media; the mayor had been out of town all day. When he returned to Kroonstad there was a security briefing by intelligence people on the state of affairs. The mayor then went to speak to the protesters. The MMC insisted that the protests were not directed at the municipality. It was more a matter of ‘thugs exploiting the situation to create an environment … in which to operate’.152 The councillor explained that many councillors viewed the protest as an act of sabotage against the ruling party (i.e. the ANC).153 Another councillor interviewed was of the opinion that many of the problems that became issues of intense public debate were in fact the product of officials committing ‘sabotage’ within the municipal system.154 He went on to explain that the reported incidents of electricity ‘cable theft’ that were responsible for extensive power outages in the Kroonstad area during August/September 2011,155 were in fact hinted

147. Municipal Infrastructure Grants (MiG), an initiative dating back to the Mbeki era.

148. MIMPA 09, 2011.10.05.

149. MIMPA 09, 2011.10.05.

150. Another councillor pointed to the fact that housing was in fact from the government department responsible for housing. The municipality only performed the service of an administrative intermediary for the national government department in this field. See TOA, OI5, 2011.10.05.

151. MIMPA 09, 2011.10.05.

152. MIMPA 09, 2011.10.05.

153. MIMPA 09, 2011.10.05.

154. MIMPA 09, 2011.10.05.

155. The cause of the power outage in September 2011 was ascribed to cable theft, but in some quarters this was questioned. According to Mr Mike Lelaka, a length of cable of between 30 and 60 metres had to be replaced after water seeped in. Local officials and an electrical contractor had worked non-stop for several days to try and restore the electricity supply. See M Phillips, “Kroonstad se krag steeds af” in Volksblad, 2011.09.11 at http://www.volksblad.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/Kroonstad-se-krag-steeds-af-20110911 (Accessed 2011.09.25).

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at in private discussions a long time before.156 The councillor clearly appeared to be well informed by the security services and relied on their views to form his perceptions on the state of public affairs in Moqhaka Local Municipality. The perceptions expressed by local politicians are not necessarily unfounded. However, they should be considered in broader perspective. For example, in 2000 there were reports of vandalism and robbery that municipal officials had to deal with. There were also disclosures of stones being thrown into manholes which prevented sewerage from passing through. Municipal officials found some manholes filled with garden and domestic refuse. Manhole lids, made of cast iron, were also being stolen at the time. These were then sold to scrap iron dealers.157 It is apparent that vandalism and theft did contribute to breakdowns. Moreover, the fact that much of the infrastructure of Moqhaka Local Municipality is old, and not properly maintained, is clearly a direct cause of breakdowns. The councillors’ perceptions suggest that there is a need for more direct and consistent procedural type of reporting on the precise nature of breakdowns in the municipal infrastructure.

Figure 22 An il legal canal made on private property at the instruction of the municipality to lead raw sewage from downtown Kroonstad into the Vals River. Photograph M Ginster

The ANC councillors did appear to be concerned about losing local business. One explained that many investors had decided to withdraw investments, specifically as a result of the ‘bad environment’ in Kroonstad.158 He was aware of an unlawful canal that had been dug on private property to allow

156. TOA OI 4, 2011.10.05.

157. M van der Merwe, “Verstopte pype wek kommer: kos raad duisende rande aan tyd en arbeid” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2000.10.10, p. 1.

158. MPMA 10, 2011.10.05.

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raw sewage to flow into the Vals River. Initially, he claimed that he was unaware of sewer spillages into the river. However, when the researchers told him that they had been on a tour of some of the sewage spills in town, he said he did not know who might have been responsible for opening up such trenches on private property.159 There was clearly a breakdown in cooperation and integration between municipal departments. This state of affairs had a direct effect on relations between the municipality and residents. Each of the two MMCs interviewed was unaware of the portfolio of the other and was unaware of the ways they could collaborate to address problematic issues.160 There was also a lack of integration between officials in various departments. The councillor conceded that some initiatives to improve communication with the public had failed. The municipality’s call centre, for example was not working properly. He admitted that he himself had phoned the centre at least 15 times without getting a satisfactory response from the operators.161 The current ANC political leadership in Moqhaka’s municipal politics is deeply rooted in the history of resistance to the former National Party government. As is the case at all levels of the present government, perceptions of local political leaders are informed by their contribution to the liberation struggle, dating back to the 1980s. However, in many respects today’s leaders seem to have learnt from the former regime. For example, in 1990 militant youths of Maokeng threatened to burn municipal vehicles if the township’s water supply and electricity were not restored. It had been cut off because of the non-payment of municipal rates.162 The local authority persisted with strong-arm tactics in the face of considerable resistance from Maokeng residents.163 It is the experience of resistance to the measures of an unpopular government that has sparked the political passions of many of today’s local political leaders. At the same time, their perceptions of the current state of affairs seem to be mirroring the stubborn behaviour shown by local authorities of former times. There is a lack of comprehension of what it means to aspire to good governance in a democratic system where the ultimate objective should be to promote mutual respect between the governance authority and its civil society. In the period leading up to the transition to a new democratic dispensation in 1994, sporadic issues of civil discontent occasionally led to consumer boycotts of local businesses which put the local authorities of Kroonstad, Steynsrus, and Viljoenskroon at risk of losing much-needed revenue from the economic interaction of local trade and commerce. Many of the local youth leaders of the 1980s became political leaders in local politics after 1994. Local civil actions aimed at politicising issues of local government seemed to be on the decline. The government initiated the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) ensuring housing and much needed water and sanitation services to all the country’s people resident in urban areas. The Masakhane campaign, one of the early initiatives to address the problem of non-payment for essential municipal services, soon followed, but it did not always have the desired effect. Until local authorities in conjunction with government began taking strong measures to ensure payment for services, the revenue of local authorities countrywide remained tenuous. By 2000, the government was forced to accept that the poverty levels in the country were so high that attention had to be given to the poor and destitute people, many of them being economically active but unemployed. Payment for water services also seemed to be counterproductive. In 2000–1 159. MIMPA 10, 2011.10.05. The trenches were a controversial issue in the town. See interviews

with members of GATVOL on 2011.10.03.

160. MIMPA 09. 2011.10.05; MIMPA 10, 2011.10.05.

161. MIMPA 10, 2011.10.05.

162. Anon., “Jonges dreig om motors te brand” in Beeld, 1990.11.28, p. 10.

163. Korrespondent, “Maokeng kry op dié dae water” in Beeld, 1990.11.30, p. 8.

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South Africa experienced its first serious cholera outbreak in the country’s history, when a large number of people died in an outbreak of the disease in the northern parts of KwaZulu-Natal. It soon spread to other parts of the country. Health authorities pointed out that in the rural areas, people who had been unable to pay for local water services resorted to taking water from local dams and rivers that were contaminated. By 2001 the department of water affairs (and forestry) introduced the principle of 6Kℓ per household per month free of charge to all South Africans.164 Shortly afterwards the government launched a monetary support programme for the country’s indigent people.165 At the level of municipal government the system appeared to function well in that indigent members of society were not to be excluded from certain basic services provided by local authorities. However, there was growing expectation that the government’s promises of service delivery, housing and job opportunities by 2004 and when these were not met, the first serious service delivery protests began. Within the ANC-COSATU-SACP alliance there were various groups protesting against a) the payment for water services; b) government’s plans to privatise certain services, such as water supply and sanitation at local government level; and c) alleged corruption and nepotism in the leadership of the country. This had dire consequences for the ANC. By 2007 there was a significant shift in the focus of the ANC leadership at Polokwane, as Mr Jacob Zuma ousted the then president of the ANC, Mr Thabo Mbeki, which also had far-reaching implications for political leaders at local level.

Opposition politicians’ perceptions Above, in the discussion on the origin of currently experienced problems with the health of the aquatic environment in Moqhaka, frequent reference is made to the role of the opposition DA and Freedom Front Plus councillors. In many respects their articulation of the problems experienced by the public on water and sanitation matters are a reflection of the discontent expressed by local residents, primarily whites. In particular, the anger of the DA councillors was reflected in their refusal to discuss these issues in the council chambers as suggested in the media by the spokesperson for the council. A more deep-seated anger was noticeable in FF+ circles, whose councillors were loath to be reminded of the inequities of the ‘apartheid’ government. Despite the best efforts of the research team, it was not possible to communicate with the leadership of Cope to hear their views on local water matters. What is clear, however, as shown above, is that in recent times the DA has taken a new stand in local politics. They have been working at winning the hearts and minds of all South Africans. The ‘toilet election’, as discussed above, was driven by both the ANC and the DA to contest superiority in local politics. In the case of Moqhaka, it did not seem to have a significant impact. However, some DA councillors were of the opinion that the party’s black support base amongst residents of Kroonstad has grown significantly.166 There are also other political groupings outside the municipal council that have been emerging gradually since 2008 in an effort to address water-related problems in a different manner. These need to be understood at closer quarters to form an impression of their perceptions of the local

164. JWN Tempelhoff, “Leaving behind a ‘twisted soul’: the 2008-9 cholera outbreak in South

Africa”, Journal for Contemporary History, 34(3) December 2009, p. 175; pp. 174-191.

165. JWN Tempelhoff, “Water and history in Africa – with a focus on democracy in South Africa 1994–2011” in Ympäristöhistoria Finnish Journal of Environmental History (YFJEH), 2, 2011, pp. 12-28; JWN Tempelhoff, “A contemporary historical perspective on some evolving trends in South Africa’s water governance (1994-2010)”, Paper presented at Water History conference, International Water History Association and the Technical University Delft, Delft, 16-19 June 2010.

166. See T Geldenhuys, “Opposisie verstewig: steun vir DA groei terwyl ANC-steun afneem” in Volksblad, 2011.05.11 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2011/05/24/KN/1/knhoof.html (Accessed 2011.11.09).

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environment. The first of these local activist-orientated political role players was the Moqhaka Belastingbetalers Inwonersvereniging/ Moqhaka Rates and Taxpayers Association (MBIV). Information on this group first appeared in the media in August 2008. They started with a series of public discussions about the fact that rates and taxes in the local municipal area had more than doubled since July. The group was linked to the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), formed in 1995 by Mr Jaap Kelder, a former councillor and ratepayer of Kempton Park in Gauteng’s Ekhuruleni Metropolitan Municipality, who developed a serious dispute with his local authority. The organisation gained significant support countrywide after 2006, at the time of South Africa’s second round of municipal elections. Its members were primarily whites who withheld their rates and taxes payments167 to certain local authorities in South Africa. This tended to attract significant support from people of a right-wing orientation. For some time, the NTU’s flagship was the town of Sannieshof where Ms Carien Visser, and the Sannieshof Inwoners en Belastingbetalersvereniging (SIBU) literally took over local government services.168 The NTU gained considerable support in many parts of South Africa.169 In legal disputes with their local authorities, members of the NTU had success in Edenville, Leeudoringstad, Trompsburg, Kroonstad, Ladysmith, Williston, Pretoria, Cullinan, Colesberg, Heilbron, Phalaborwa, Ventersburg, Villiers and Frankfort.170 In the case of Kroonstad, Mr Gerrit van Schalkwyk was the chairperson of the MBIV. At the time when bad service delivery hit the news headlines, the organisation started garnering support from dissatisfied residents. Van Schalkwyk then voiced his reservations on whether the municipality could be trusted with the public monies paid by ratepayers.171 By October 2008 the association was up and running and Van Schalkwyk told the local newspaper that the Kroonstad MBIV was concerned that councillors owed the municipality R153 726 in arrear rates and taxes. He was aware of one councillor who owed the municipality as much as R18 000. He also told the media that the MBIV had not yet received any response from the Moqhaka Local Municipality in connection with the dispute that had been declared against it.172 The MBIV also warned the opposition parties in the council against ‘false expectations’ because a split in the ANC in 2008 had resulted in the formation of Cope. The MBIV leadership were of the opinion that it was futile for opposition councillors to place any faith 167. Later they were primarily rates payments.

168. A Slabbert, “Belastingbetalers voer stryd teen mislukte owerhede” in Beeld, 2010.08.26 at http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2010/08/26/B1/16/asnbu.html (Accessed 2011.10.13).

169. By December 2009 the group had declared disputes in the following towns: Barberton, Barkly-West, Beaufort-West, Bethlehem, Bloemhof, Britstown, Calitzdorp, Carnarvon, Colesberg, Cullinan (farmers), Cullinan (town), De Aar, Delareyville, Delportshoop, Deneysville, Edenville, Ekurhuleni metro, Frankfort, Hartbeespoortdam, Hanover, Hennenman, Heilbron, Kroonstad, Ladysmith (KZN), Ladismith (Eastern Cape), Louis Trichardt, Maclear, Mooirivier (town), Mooirivier (farmers), Middelburg (Northern Cape), Oranjeville, Ottosdal, Phalaborwa, Pretoria, Sannieshof, Smithfield, Sutherland, Swartruggens, Tulbagh, Ugi, Van Wyksdorp, Ventersburg, Villiers, Welkom, Williston, Windsorton (sic) [Winterton?] and Warrenton. Anon., “Jan Publiek tot die redding” in Beeld, 2009.12.22 at http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2009/12/22/B1/19/lbbbverenigings_1008.html (Accessed 2011.1013).

170. Anon., “Jan Publiek tot die redding” in Beeld, 2009.12.22 at http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/2009/12/22/B1/19/lbbbverenigings_1008.html (Accessed 2011.1013).

171. T Geldenhuys, “Belaglike pryse verstom” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2008.08.26 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2008/08/26/KN/12/knmbiv.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

172. M Phillips, “Belastingbetalers hou geld terug” in Volksblad, 2008.10.20 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2008/10/20/V2/4/webelas.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

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in the council’s promises that R60 million would be made available for improving the roads and water provision in the city. The group were clearly aware of what appeared to them to be the racial preferential treatment of Moqhaka’s residents. They argued that most of the money was to be spent in the areas where 98% of the residents did not pay their rates and taxes.173 The MBIV also communicated with certain key national government departments. They in turn asserted pressure on the Moqhaka Local Municipality to respond to ratepayers complaints. The municipality started making disclosures on some of the critical issues in the media, hoping to stem the mounting tide of public criticism it had to face.174 By the end of 2008 the damaging publicity caused by the activities of ratepayers countrywide clearly forced the government to take palliative measures.175 In Kroonstad criticism of the municipality persisted. The MBIV looked at the council with a disdain that was clearly informed by the attitude of the ANC-controlled sector in the larger council and the officials of the municipality. On one occasion Van Schalkwyk explained in a letter to the editor:

Die groot probleem met … ‘hoë’ munisipale amptenare is dat hulle hulself as koninklikes beskou, eerder as om diensbaar te wees aan die gemeenskap wat hul salarisse betaal, hetsy deur munisipale of nasionale belasting en respek aan die inwoners en openbare eiendom te betoon.176

In February 2009, Kroonstad Business and Tourism (KB&T) started a campaign to improve the town’s service delivery. The organisation’s vice-chairman, Mr Sidney Pittaway, (a member of the DA in the Moqhaka Council) asked residents to report all water-related problems to the KB&T.177 This grouping, consisting primarily of local business people, was clearly more pragmatic in orientation. It was eager to promote business and tourism in the largest urban centre of Moqhaka Local Municipality. 178 However, because commerce remained sensitive to potential consumer boycotts, the organisation tended to remain somewhat aloof of what could be labelled party political-inspired initiatives. Since 2009 they have been fairly successful in some quarters of the community in bringing pressure to bear on the municipality in the form of bad publicity in the media. The MBIV was more blunt in its approach and persisted in its on-going criticism of the local municipality. Van Schalkwyk pointed out that the problems with some sewers that had been reported to the municipality in 2004 had, by 2009, still not been repaired. The MBIV also had independent tests done on the municipality’s water and came to the conclusion that although the

173. Correspondence: Rate payer of Moqhaka, Kroonstad – Editor, “Ratepayers of Moqhaka have to

stand together” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2008.11.04 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2008/11/04/KN/4/knwakeup.html (Accessed 2008.11.04).

174. J Brits, “Munisipaliteit kap inwonersvereniging oor riool-beweringe” in Volksblad, 2009.10.09 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/01/09/VB/4/jbkrwater.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

175. Correspondence: P Olivier, Bethlehem – Editor, “As alles dan reg is” in Volksblad, 2009.01.10 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/01/10/VB/13/sathoofbrifff.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

176. Correspondence: G van Schalkwyk – Editor, “Verstom oor kommentaar” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2009.01.20 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/01/20/KN/4/knmbivriool.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

177. Anon., “Help to improve service delivery” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2009.02.10 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/02/10/KN/11/knhelpdesk.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

178. Anon., “Help to improve service delivery” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2009.02.10 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/02/10/KN/11/knhelpdesk.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

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water was clean enough for drinking purposes, it had a bad smell. This was because it had not been properly de-sludged. The association was aware of the fact that of the 20 sand filters at the water purification plant, only eight were in working order at the beginning of 2009.179 It was clear that the MBIV had been able to get some information out of the municipality that was not generally known, even by members of the council. The municipality soon responded in the media. Mr Michael Lelaka, the deputy manager of technical services apologised to the residents and reported that the division’s officials were hard at work trying to get the faulty pumps working again. At the time the supply was only working at 40–45% of capacity.180 The DA spokesperson in the Moqhaka Council, Dr A Viljoen, ascribed the prevailing state of affairs to poor maintenance of the system.181 He claimed that at the time residents in parts of Kroonstad had been without water for several days.182 The DA indicated in the media that it intended to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission. The provincial leadership of the party said that talks would be held with the provincial MEC, Mr Joel Mafereka.183 In an editorial comment, Volksblad explained that the water situation in Kroonstad, as was the case elsewhere in the province, was a direct result of the rot that had set into the leadership of the ANC.184 Moreover, in the atmosphere of preparations for the national elections, the DA started insinuating that Moqhaka Local Municipality had already acquired a reputation for its poor management.185 The MBIV, as active political instigating agent proved to be a force to be reckoned with. In March 2009 they managed to find out that the council was making use of Ramatshire Building & Civil, a company with its headquarters in Johannesburg, to do the municipality’s meter readings. There were suspicions that the company was not doing a proper job. Furthermore, there were complaints about the firm MMS Collectors, another Johannesburg-based company, that was responsible for the council’s debt collecting. The MBIV felt that Kroonstad’s attorneys would be just as good at doing the job. Why then outsource the task? The municipality apparently paid the debt collectors R165 000 per month for the work; according to the MBIV, it was unreasonable to expect the ratepayers

179. M Phillips, “Belastingbetalers toets dorp se water” in Volksblad, 2009.02.26 at

http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/02/26/VB/4/wewater-V2-02.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

180. T de Wet, “Personeel spook om pompe op Kroonstad te herstel” in Volksblad, 2009.03.09 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/09/VB/2/wewate.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

181. M Phillips, “Munisipaliteit lank gewaarsku oor water” in Volksblad, 2009.03.10 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/10/VB/2/wekroon.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

182. T Geldenhuys, “Waternood duur voort” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2009.03.10 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/10/KN/1/knwater.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

183. M Phillips, “Dorp steeds sonder water: krane sesde dag droog” in Volksblad, 2009.03.12 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/12/V2/1/wewater.html (Accessed 2011.20.15).

184. Editorial comment, “In dié stadium is dit net nog leë ANC-beloftes” in Volksblad, 2009.03.13. at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/13/VB/6/art13.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

185. M Phillips, “Dorp steeds sonder water: krane sesde dag droog” in Volksblad, 2009.03.12 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/13/V2/1/wewater.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

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(albeit indirectly) to pay MMS Collectors for the work; it was not their responsibility. Instead, the costs should rightfully be paid by the residents who were NOT paying their accounts.186 There were indications of the emergence of a new type of invisible political leadership, one that directed the local residents to take note of disparities. The problem was that the movers and shakers were primarily white and most were Afrikaans-speaking in orientation. Many of the city’s black residents, most of whom probably did not read Afrikaans newspapers, were not directly aware of the discourses of the ‘invisible’ politicians. Also of importance is the fact that it was 2009 and with the election campaign in full swing, the prevalent mentality of Kroonstad residents was to be intolerant towards one another. A ‘concerned resident of Kroonstad’, who had not had water in his household for the past three days, passed the city’s taxi rank one Sunday morning to see a person in ‘ANC colours’ busy hosing down the taxi rank with water from a fire hydrant. The resident confronted the cleaner and pointed out that parts of the city had hardly any water. The reply was that it would be better to remain silent otherwise the people would ‘boycott’ his business. He added that in the apartheid era black people had to stand in long queues to secure water.187 In May 2009, shortly after the national election, Ms Corinne de Kock, deputy director of the provincial department of water affairs in Bloemfontein told the media that the department had taken samples of water in the Vals River. She explained that the town’s water purification plant should still be fully functional in view of the fact that part of the plant had been upgraded in 1997. This fact was contested by some residents. Mr Thys Vermeulen, a former municipal engineer in Kroonstad was of the opinion that because of bad maintenance over a period of 12 years the plant had deteriorated significantly. It was, he said, a matter of millions of rands that would have to be paid out to restore the plant.188 Shortly afterwards, Mr Jaap Kelder, the chairperson of the NTU, visited Kroonstad along with Mr Pieter van der Westhuizen a FF+ councillor of the Mafube Local Municipality in Villiers. They urged residents to refrain from paying their rates and taxes. They suggested that monies should rather be paid into a separate account from which funds could be drawn to pay for some of the work that needed to be done in Kroonstad.189 In a report released in May 2009 by the department of water affairs and forestry, it was stated that 12 of the 20 municipalities in the Free State (60%) had sub-standard potable water quality. FezileDabi’s local municipalities of Moqhaka, Ngwathe and Mafube had all failed to make the grade.190 By June 2009 the opposition party leaders were once again up in arms when residents of Moqhaka were informed that rates and taxes would be increased.191 When the council of Moqhaka announced

186. T Geldenhuys, “Inwoners betaal te veel vir water – MBIV” in Kroonnuus, 2009.03.17 at

http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/17/KN/3/knmbivkla.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

187. Correspondence: Concerned Kroonstad resident – Editor, “Water wasted to clean up taxi rank despite shortage” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2009.03.24 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/03/24/KN/4/kntaxiwash.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

188. V Booysen, “Departement kan dalk optree” in Kroonnuus,, 2009.05.12 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/05/12/KN/3/knrioolll.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

189. V Burger, “Toestande van rioolaanlegte ‘skrikwekkend’: inwoners moet saamstaan” in Volksblad, 2009.05.11 at http:ü//152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/05/11/VB/4/bhmriool.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

190. D Kok, “Volle 60% van munisipaliteit in VS kry nul vir drinkwater” in Volksblad, 2009.05.15 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/05/15/VB/1/dkwater.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

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its budget for the new book year 2009–2010 the DA opposition warned that far too little money had been set aside for water and sanitation services. The DA also were of the opinion that:

• technical officials were unable to cope with essential repair work to the water system in a timeous manner;

• officials working at the municipal switchboard had to bear the brunt of the residents’ anger; and

• there was a shortage of funds to appoint new officials, while offices in the municipality were filled with people who had been given political posts with high salaries.192

What originally appeared to be some form of symbiosis and collaboration between the opposition political leaders in the council with the extra-council political leadership, by mid-May had turned into a lively fight between the DA, MBIV and even the NTU. Allegations were flying left, right and centre about the alleged charges laid by the DA against Moqhaka Local Municipality. Others were arguing that nothing of the sort had ever been submitted. At the same time the NTU’s chairperson, Jaap Kelder, took the local newspaper, Kroonnuus, to task for apparently siding with the DA.193 Although the matter was later put to rest with a strong united stand to the ANC-controlled council members, the political opposition leadership in Moqhaka is generally notable for its frustration with being such a small grouping, unable to garner sufficient support from the electorate to lift the ANC out of the cushions. Realistically speaking, a ground-breaking shift in political allegiance away from a political liberation movement with a 100-year track record does not come overnight. This reasoning was without a doubt behind the subtle shift in approach to skin the cat in another manner. It was decided to use the Gatvol Kroonstad action as a Trojan horse to access the Kroonstad municipal offices in May 2011, a week before the countrywide municipal elections. Although there were already rumblings of what would later become Gatvol Kroonstad, as early as February 2011 the grouping only really emerged in April/May 2011 as a significant pressure group. Its leadership consisted primarily of an informal group of young people with business interests in the town. They were discontented with the way the city was being managed. The group appears to be well-informed on information technology (IT). Apart from a Twitter site, 194 they also have a Facebook page, which by October 2011 had an estimated membership of almost 600 local residents.195 One of their first moves was to drum up support for a petition to the municipality to complain about the non-maintenance of the city’s infrastructure.196 The group was aggravated about the fact that the business people of the city were responsible for about 80% of Kroonstad’s rates and taxes. Yet the

191. J Brits, “Inwoners moet hulle staal vir verhogings” in Volksblad, 2009.06.09 at

http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/06/09/SV/6/kreiendom.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

192. T Geldenhuys, “Gans se dae dalk getel” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2009.06.09 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/06/09/KN/7/kndabegroot.html (Accessed 2011.10.09).

193. T Geldenhuys, “MBIV het DA boos” in Volksblad Kroonnuus, 2009.06.09 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2009/06/09/KN/1/knrugry.html (Accessed 2011.10.15).

194. Twitter, Gatvol Kroonstad at http:twitter.com/#!/GatvolKroonstad (Accessed 2011.10.13).

195. Facebook, “Gatvol Kroonstad” at http://www.facebook.com/GatvolKroonstad?v=info#info_edit_sections (Accessed 2011.10.13).

196. Gatvol Kroonstad, “Petition list” at http://e3.co.za/gatvol/Gatvol%20Petition.pdf (Accessed 2011.10.13).

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maintenance of infrastructure and services left much to be desired. They were angry about the state of the city’s streets that were littered with large potholes.197 Overnight there was significant support for legal steps against the local authority, with members of the public offering monetary contributions to help pay for a court case.198 In the media, the organisation was described as a non-political action group. The first gesture of support was when about 300 residents of the town gathered at the town hall for a meeting arranged by local businessmen.

Figure 23 Part of the May 2011 march of Gatvol Kroonstad protestors to the Moqhaka Local Municipality offices in Kroonstad (Source: Gatvol on Facebook, accessed 2011.11.24).

It is difficult to say whether the leadership of Gatvol Kroonstad have deep-seated political ambitions. What is evident is that it is a younger generation of people who are intent on doing things differently. Their perceptions are different to the political leadership, especially those of the apartheid era. Although many members are Afrikaans speaking, there appear to be a sense of ‘we need to live together’. However, there are traces of an identity dichotomy. One of the leaders explained in an interview: ‘I actually have a black mother’. She is the black domestic servant who cared for him when he was a small child in Kroonstad. She taught him to eat marogo, and pap. He sat on the ground next to her and learnt from her how to look at the world. At the same time, he was also subjected to seeing the world from the perspective of his father and mother. As whites who had been living in the region for a long time, they understand the local SeSotho people, as no other grouping in South Africa would understand them.

We love each other. It is a love based on a mutual trust that has developed over a long period of time. We can, in all earnestness not really live without each other.199

197. Facebook, “Gatvol Kroonstad” at

http://www.facebook.com/GatvolKroonstad?v=info#info_edit_sections (Accessed 2011.10.13).

198. Facebook, Basic information Gatvol Kroonstad at http://www.facebook.com/GatvolKroonstad?v=info#info_edit_sections (accessed 2011.1013).

199. TOA OI1, 2011.11.07.

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There is also a passion for the local environment that is shaped by childhood experiences and the expectation that one should ultimately be able to live and flourish in the Moqhaka municipal area. There are indications of a keen commitment to continue making a contribution to social interaction within the confines of Moqhaka. The support and mutual respect for the local social environment is based on a material investment in property and business. The intention is to live well and also allow the sun to shine on other people.200 This type of leader, who is more of a social participant in the local social ecology, is more intent on wanting to share and lead from insignificant spaces in the community. Spaces such as the local chess club, or a diving club, or a hiking group. They are people in search of a quality of life that can only be nurtured in the settings of the South African veld, its towns and people in an urban setting, such as in Kroonstad, Viljoenskroon or Steynrus in the Free State Province.201 What is disconcerting to this type of leader is the local municipal council’s exclusionary attitude, its unwillingness to share ideas and proposals about local development and potential local collaboration on matters of mutual support. In the brief history of municipal politics since 1994, it has become more than evident how grandiose schemes of an exclusionary nature tended to backfire in the community. In 2007–8 there were plans to have a ‘celebrity bash’ in Kroonstad to market the city.202 It was a dismal failure and left many community leaders muttering their suspicions of corruption and political foulplay. It is this type of situation that needs to be negotiated.203 In the leadership of Gatvol Kroonstad there is a willingness to talk openly about nurturing a local patriotism that is not one-sided and exclusivist; one that is intent on creating a sense of cohesion and a love for that which is local and exclusive to the community of Moqhaka.204

Kroonstad and Steynsrus residents give their views Members of the research group visited a number of townships in and around Kroonstad at the time of the research fieldwork. In Constantia Park there were mixed reactions to questions on water quality and service delivery. This is a township where, with the exception of one family, all the residents interviewed were elderly people who had lived in the area for as long as 30 years. Most residents complained about the quality of drinking water, describing it variously as milky, brownish, soiled, and foul smelling. At the first house visited there were few complaints, but at the home immediately opposite it was a different story. They complained the water was dark and ‘brownish’ in colour, tasted like algae and had a dreadful smell.205 In neighbouring Brent Park, previously a residential area for people who were classified as ‘coloured’, the community was dissatisfied with water services and pointed specifically to the prevailing situation in their area, which was close to a dysfunctional wastewater pumping station. Some even felt that the local authority and its officials were discriminating against them. There had been rumours to the effect that members of the council had remarked that in the apartheid era the coloured people were

200. TOA OI1, 2011.11.07.

201. TOA OI1, 2011.11.07.

202. J Brits, “Polisie het bedrog in sy visier” in Volksblad, 2011.09.28 at http://152.111.11.6/argief/berigte/volksblad/2011/09/28/VB/2/krextrav.html (Accessed 2011.10.13).

203. TOA OI1, 2011.11.07.

204. TOA OI1, 2011.11.07.

205. MMOI 4, 2011.10.03; ATA OI 5, 2011.10.04; MK 4, 2011.10.04; TJOI 3, 2011.10.04.

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beneficiaries of the former government.206 The adults interviewed explained that they were worried that their children were potentially exposed to raw sewage (see Figure 24). After heavy rains the local sewer pumping station would typically overflow. Children would then play with cigarette ‘stompies’ (butts) in the water – as if they were boats.207 Respondents also claimed that they suffered frequent bouts of diarrhoea in their area.208

Figure 24 A resident of Brent Park stands at a wastewater pumping station where raw sewage flows in profuse streams down to the river on the edge of the township. (Photograph IM Moeketsi)

In terms of domestic drinking water the residents of Brent Park also had complaints. As a rule the water was ‘very dirty’ and foul smelling. It was even claimed that:

Sometimes when you open the tap and pour the water in the bucket, you see toilet paper deposits at the bottom. It makes it difficult … to drink the water.209

In Marabastad, the oldest former black residential area in Kroonstad, interviews were conducted on 4 October. Here again, reaction was mixed. Some residents said they at least had one consolation – they had been connected to the town’s water network, so their domestic water supply was consistent. However, perhaps because the pipelines were old, the water tended to be dirty, smelly and muddy.210

206. MIMPA 4, 2011.10.04.

207. MIMPA 4, 2011.10.04

208. MIMPA 4, of 2011.10.04

209. MBPA 3, 2011.10.04.

210. MMOI 4, 2011.10.04; AMOI 2, 3 and 4, 2011.10.04; MKOI2, 2011.10.04; MROI 1 and 2, 2011.10.04; TJOI 1 and 2, 2011.10.04.

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On the other hand, others felt that the quality of the water was satisfactory.211 There were also residents who were under the impression that the inferior quality water came directly from the water purification plant which they were convinced was malfunctioning.212 The water was smelly and tasted of metal as if it had been stored in a container made of iron or steel.213

Figure 25 Raw sewage streaming from the Snake Park sewage pumping station. Children daily criss-cross the stream when they walk along the paths in the veld or play games. (Photograph M Ginster)

In some cases people said they tended to leave a tap water running – thereby causing serious wastage – until they were of the opinion that the ‘colour’ had changed. In both Brent Park and Marabastad respondents said that if a tap was left running for two hours in the morning the strange colour ‘returned’ to the ‘normal’ colour.214 Others claimed to have discovered on which particular days their water would be of a reasonable standard. Brent Park residents said that on Tuesdays and Thursdays the smell and the quality of the water was exceedingly bad.215 In Marabastad residents complained that laundry took on the colour of the washing water – this was most notable with light coloured laundry.216

211. MBPA 2, 2011.10.04; TJ2, 2011.10.04; ATA 2, 2011.10.04; MMOI 2, 2011.10.04.

212. MK 3, 2011.10.04.

213. MIMPA 3 and 4, 2011.10.04; MMOI 2 and 4. 2011.10.04.

214. MIMPA 3 and 4, 2011.10.4; MMOI 2 and 4, 2011.10.04.

215. MBPA 3, 2011.10.04.

216. MIMPA 4, 2011.10.4; MK 2, 2011.10.04.

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Figure 26 A child next to a tap in a Marabastad, Kroonstad backyard. (Photograph DM Morotolo)

As for sanitation, the residents of Marabastad explained that although they had access to flushing toilets, the infrastructure did not work very well. In many households there had been a transition from an old to the new system.217 It was evident that improvements were under way in Marabastad. Workers were busy at the site of a building project where the foundations of new houses had been laid. In some parts of the township road surfaces had been tarred and outside toilets had been installed. There was even the odd open water-based toilet in the yard of homes in Marabastad, reminiscent of the political tiff that hit the headlines prior to the recent local elections, when the DA and the ANC took each other on in the ‘open toilet’ debate.218 In Constantia Park people complained about leaking toilets. They were not sure where the water was coming from.219 When the research team visited Steynsrus on 5 October 2011, the health of the community was definitely at risk because of the inferior water supply. The community’s right to live in a healthy environment was severely compromised. Community members complained that the quality of local water was bad. It had a brownish colour and was muddy.220 Furthermore, the water supply was extremely erratic, especially in the hilly areas of the township, where there was often no water at all. There were also frequent water cut-offs and incidents of burst water pipes. What made matters worse was that there was no prior notice of cut-offs or disclosure of breakdowns in the service.

217. TJ1 and 2, 2011.10.14; MMOI 2, 2011.10.4; TMAMOI 2 and 3, 2011.10.04; MR 1 and 2,

2011.10.14.

218. See section on the ‘toilet election’ above.

219. MMIOI 5, 2011.10.04; ATOI 6, 2011.10.14.

220. MMOI3, 2011.10.05.

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Residents who enquired at the local municipal offices about the lack of water, were invariably told that there were burst water pipes.221

Figure 27 An unenclosed toilet in the yard of a home in Marabastad, Kroonstad in October 2011. (Photograph JWN Tempelhoff)

One member of the research team interviewed a local councillor at Matlwangtlwang, who explained the water-related problems in the areas were as a result of:

• the suspect structure of the dam supplying water to the community; • the types of toilets used by the community; and • sewerage system problems.

Matlwangtlwang is a rocky area. This may explain why there are problems with regard to water supply and sanitation. Apparently the structure of the dam is faulty; not only are there leaks but there are also frequent overflows during heavy rain. The residents of Matlwangtlwang use VIP toilets because of the local rocky soil conditions. Residents told the research team that there were no qualified technicians to fix the toilets if and when they were not in working order. The local sewerage system is apparently not available to most residents. Those who do have flush toilets are dissatisfied with them and claim that they compromise the health of the community, who often suffer from stomach ailments such as diarrhoea. They explained that after heavy rain the level of the raw sewerage rises, the toilets do not function properly and there are spillages 222 A member of the research team interviewed a gardener and an educator at a school in Matlwangtlwang. They indicated that water was very scarce and had to be used sparingly. They are

221. MMOI3, 2011.10.05.

222. MMOI4, 2011.10.05.

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using Jojo tanks to provide the necessary water in the school’s administrative building. The gardener had to rely on rain water. Because of the lack of water, the learners were encouraged to use the toilets at their homes. The educator was angry about the water problems and sanitation service delivery. He said that the schools in Matlwangtlwang had no interest in teaching the learners about the environment and water management, because there had been no water supply in that area for many years. What was the sense of teaching learners about water use if no piped water was available?223

Figure 28Part of the dysfunctional wastewater treatment works at Steynsrus. (Photograph S Berner)

During the interview one of the officials at Matlwangtlwang local municipality’s water station explained to the surprise of the researcher that he had forgotten to switch on the power the previous day before leaving for home. That was one of the reasons, he explained, why the community did not have access to any water that particular day!224

Perceptions of water and health Across the spectrum of interview themes, there were significant references to health-related issues on water. In both Marabastad and Brent Park225 residents said that many people were suffering from diarrhoea. As a rule residents of Kroonstad were particularly concerned about the fact that the quality of drinking water posed a potential health threat to their children.226 Children in Brent Park and Marabastad tended to get sores on their legs and feet. There were also reported cases of

223. MMOI4, 2011.10.05.

224. MMOI3, 2011.10.05.

225. MIMPA 4, 2011.10.04.

226. MBPA 1, 2011.10.04.

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vomiting and skin rashes.227 Some resorted to questionable medicinal treatment. One shopkeeper spoke of the extraordinary quantities of castor oil she was selling in the township for stomach ailments.228 An elderly resident of long standing explained that she used a medicine called Agarol.229

Perceptions of Moqhaka Local Municipality as water service provider The perceptions of residents of Moqhaka on water and sanitation service delivery are directly related to the extent to which they a) have access to clean drinkable water from the tap; and b) experience the environmental side-effects of raw sewage. In what would generally be considered logical reasoning, to gain political support for a local service provider, the way to go is for that provider to keep its ‘customers’ happy. Service user frustrations contribute to articulated expressions of discontent and dissatisfaction. Residents in the Kroonstad region typically said they had not seen their councillors since the local elections of early 2011. Breakdowns in water, sewerage and electricity provision that were reported to the municipality went unattended. Direct appeals to ward councillors were also futile – they too seemed unable to deal with problem. The idea of opening a complaints office seemed to have been abandoned as unworkable.230 Another respondent confirmed this, saying that a complaint made at the time of the election in May 2011, took as long as eight months to be addressed. She added that in her view residents were not getting their money’s worth. For her it was:

like paying for a packet of chips and getting nothing in return.231

Bottled water For many residents of Kroonstad, bottled water had apparently become a viable alternative, but the less-privileged people were not in a position to purchase this water.232 Some openly confessed that they could not afford it.233 In an example of collaboration between two residents in Marabastad, one explained that she knew where to purchase 5 litres of water for R9. Another said she had paid between R10 and R12 for 5 litres. When it is considered that a return taxi trip to downtown Kroonstad typically costs R12, the suburban consumers in Kroonstad pay as much as R19 to R22 for 10 litres of water.234 Respondents were particularly concerned about the health of their children and a number of them gave this as their main reason for purchasing bottled water.235

Educational needs in environmental health Two members of the research team focused on the education aspects of environmental health and the aquatic environment in Moqhaka Local Municipality. Their brief was to take note of circumstances and the potential need for water-related hygiene education in the school environment.

227. MMOI 1 and 2, 2011.10.04; TMAOI 2 and 3, 2011.10.04; MK 3, 2011.10.14;MIMPA 3,

2011.10.04.

228. MIMPA 2, 2011.10.04.

229. TJOA 2, 2011.10.04.

230. MIMPA 3, 2011.10.04.

231. MBPA 1, 2011.10.04; MMOI 1, 2011.10.04; TMAPA 1, 2011.10.04; MBPA 3, 2011,10.04.

232. MBPA 1, 2011.10.04.

233. TJ1 and 2, 2011.10.04; MMOI 2, 2011.10.04; TMAMOI 2 and 3, 2011.10.04; MR 1 and 2, 2011.10.04.

234. TJOA 2, 2011.10.04.

235. TMA OI 1, 2011.10.06.

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It is accepted that hygiene education, using a variety of participatory and other learning methods, should enable schoolchildren to develop the knowledge, attitudes and life skills they need for adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, particularly with respect to water, sanitation and hygiene. Water points should be placed close to classrooms and be at a suitable height for users. Staff toilets and schoolchildren’s toilets should be located next to hand washing points that have adequate drainage.236 Raising public awareness about water conservation, health and hygiene practices is vitally important. Teachers can be effective advocates for hygiene, through hygiene education and by acting as role models for schoolchildren. Contact between the school and the home should be encouraged through parent and teacher meetings. These should be used to link hygiene promotion at school and in the home. Water and soap must be provided for hand washing after going to the toilet and before handling food. This may be achieved using simple and economical equipment, such as a pitcher of water and a basin. After extensive discussions with residents of Moqhaka Local Municipality there was consensus among researchers that environmental health education was necessary in the community as a whole. Some respondents told members of the research team that they had never received any education about environmental awareness of water.237 The need for education was not confined to hygiene; there is a wide range of water knowledge needs. For example, some residents explained that they had water meters in their backyards; they wanted to know how to read the meters. They felt as if they were not being empowered sufficiently on how to ensure the municipality’s readings were accurate.238 Another resident produced his account and explained that he did not know how the charges were calculated. Only after the researcher had showed him how the staggered pricing of water tariffs worked and that he still received his first 6Kℓ free of charge, was he in a position to comprehend how the system worked.239

Kroonstad There seems to be a concern among some parents about the way their children are educated about the environment. One resident explained that his child in Grade 7 had not been taught anything at all about environmental awareness at school. Nobody seemed to care about the environment, he said.240 The educational environment, especially the lack of proper water and sanitation, is directly influenced by the critical state of affairs as far as water service delivery is concerned. One researcher interviewed two members of the administrative staff at Flavius Mareka, an FET College in Kroonstad. The water quality at the campus was particularly bad. Besides having a brownish colour the water tasted like ‘mud’. The 650 college students drank water from the tap. It was not unusual for them to become ill which in turn led to absenteeism. The staff members thought the poor water quality at the campus might well be to blame. Members of the college staff declined to drink tap water; they purchased bottled water.241

236. J Zomerplaag & A Mooijman, Child-friendly hygiene and sanitation facilities in schools:

indispensable to effective hygiene education, (United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) International Water and Sanitation Centre, Delft, 2005.

237. MMOI 5, 2011.10.14; TMAPA 2, 3, and 4, 2011.10.04; MRPA 1, 2, and 3, 2011.10.04.

238. MBPA 2, 2011.10.04.

239. TJOA 3, 2011.10.04.

240. MBPA 2, 2011.10.04.

241. TMA OI 2, 2011.10.05.

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Figure 29 Sample of the water from the tap at Flavius Mareka FET College Kroonstad. (Photograph: Agnes Tsotetsi)

The members of staff had reported the matter. Furthermore, the municipality was well aware that there was a sewerage spillage at the college. They explained that the equipment was in a state of disrepair and needed to be replaced. However, nothing had been done to rectify the problem. The quality of education at the college was being negatively affected by both the condition of the water and the smell from the sewer. The college management had even dug a canal to allow the sewer overflow to run into the river near the campus.242 According to the members of staff there was a definite need for college students to be educated in terms of basic water matters. One area, for example was for students to be taught how to use water carefully. The staff explained that students, especially at the onset of summer, liked to ‘shower’ each other, by playfully spraying tap water. They did not even realise that this was a waste of scarce water supplies. Moreover, staff members were of the opinion that water education on health and hygiene at the campus would be a boon to the student community.243 They also said they had never seen any of the environmental health practitioners (EHPs) at the college. However, they were confident that with the EHP’s positive input, there might be an improvement of local service delivery and a far cleaner environment.244

242. MMOI2, 2011.10.05.

243. ATA OI 2, 2011.10.05.

244. MMOI2, 2011.10.05.

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Steynsrus/Matlwangtlwang In the Steynsrus/Matlwangtwlang the local school has made contingency plans for potential water outages. The principal of the Matlwangtlwang Secondary School said that water was stored in Jojo tanks and this could be used by teachers and children if necessary. Nevertheless, when there were long water cut-offs, the school toilets were closed and later the learners would be sent home if the water supply was not restored.245 Learners normally cleaned their school toilets every two weeks. However, they did not use any protective gloves or special clothing when doing so.246

Figure 30 Water tank used by Matlwangtlwang Secondary School during water cut–offs. Photograph: A Tsotetsi

Rammulotsi/Viljoenskroon At Rammulotsi/Viljoenskroon the researchers visited the Ntswanatsatsi Primary School, which in October 2011 had 1 350 learners and 40 teachers. There were sufficient toilets available for both boys and girls. There was also adequate provision for privacy and security. The toilets were in a hygienic condition and hand wash facilities were close by. Cleaning and maintenance routines were in operation. However, learners were not involved in water education or health and hygiene education. They often wasted water during break time when taps were not properly closed. At the time of the visit the school did not participate in any water activities except during the annual celebrations of water week.247

245. ATA OI 4, 2011.10.05.

246. ATA OI 4, 2011.10.05.

247. ATA OI 1, 2011.10.06.

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At the Boitumelo day care centre one of the educators who had been working there for five years complained to the researchers about the water quality. At the time (in October 2011) there were 240 children between 2 and 6 years of age at the centre. There were two taps available; one outside and one in the kitchen. Toilets were clean and sufficient for the needs of the children. The staff member interviewed said that during water cut-offs they used buckets to collect and store water. They gave the children the water to drink if they asked for it. She explained that the children frequently suffered from stomach cramps and diarrhoea. The staff did not think of boiling the water for the children and agreed that this should be done in future, especially for those who were ill.248

Environmental health assessment For municipal health officials of Moqhaka Local Municipality who participated in the fieldwork and reported on the aquatic environmental health in Moqhaka, the experience has been of substantial value. From the interviews some observations were made, notably that most residents complained that the municipality did not communicate effectively with them when there were problems with municipal services. It was clear that better communication will benefit both the municipality and the community. Health and Hygiene education and awareness on water and sanitation issues at community level should be strengthened to impart knowledge and foster a culture of responsibility. This will enable the community to take informed decisions. The fieldwork and discussions held in the research group made the researchers very aware that in recent years the municipal services and infrastructure in this local municipality have been deteriorating at an alarming rate. This explains why municipal health services (MHS) have been inundated with complaints from residents about sewerage spillages, poor quality and quantity of drinking water and illegal dumping of refuse. In addition, there was a noticeable increase in the number of residents purchasing bottled water. The municipal health officials once again became acutely aware of how vulnerable the environmental health of the water was in, for example Kroonstad. The Department of Correctional Services and the School of Engineers are two military bases situated in Kroonstad, hence the population of Kroonstad (and thus the water services required) fluctuates depending on the intake by these institutions each season. In the Viljoenskroon/Rammulotsi urban unit there is an estimated population of 59 202. Apart from those employed as agricultural workers on nearby farms, the urban area accommodates people employed in the adjacent goldfields and other mining activities in the North West Province. It is crucially important to maintain adequate environmental health standards. There is a realisation of how interconnected Moqhaka Local Municipality is with other regions. For the purposes of this investigation the municipal health officials participating in the research identified three areas that need special attention; they are listed and discussed below. The views of the officials expressed here are based on the interaction with the public and discussions within the group at the time of conducting the research.

Drinking Water People have lost confidence in the municipal drinking water. Some have resorted to buying bottled water instead of relying on municipal water for consumption. Those who have no other option have

248. ATA OI 5, 2011.10.06.

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to drink municipal water because they cannot afford to buy bottled water.249 The retailers of bottled water have indicated that the number of customers is soaring because people are sceptical about whether the municipal water is safe to drink. Their customers apparently describe the municipal water as foul smelling and dirty and say it has an unpleasant taste. They believe that they are likely to get diarrhoea if they drink municipal water.250

It is important to take note of the perspectives of water dealers. Several shops in Moqhaka trade in bottled water. One owner explained that the water-related problems in Kroonstad are not unique and that other urban areas are in a similar predicament. The way the public responds to the local municipal drinking water, is what has kept him in business. According to him the problem has worsened over the past three years. The community trusts the bottled water they purchase at the shops. The same cannot be said of tap water provided by the local municipality.251 One shop owner went so far as to say she did not make money out of water sales in her shop, she provided the service because the local municipality failed to provide the public with safe, clean drinking water.252

Some water retailers had their reservations about other water sellers. They asked: “Is the quality known? How true is the information on their label?” other sceptics pointed out that the label claimed that total dissolved solids (TDS) was zero. This information is basically flawed. In several of the interviews it became clear that environmental health practitioners (EHPs) have been visiting the shops that are trading water. The EHPs also take samples for testing.253 Shops also do TDS analyses free for the members of the public. They even send water samples to an accredited lab for a full analysis once a month. One specific shop owner was willing to share the results of these tests, but he did not think his franchise-holding company would enter into an integrated water sampling strategy with the local authority. The research group observed a high level of interest and considerable basic water knowledge amongst the shopkeepers who are trading water.254 Water shortage and constant water cut-offs have been identified as one of the major challenges. According to some respondents the municipality does not inform them when there is going to be cut-offs for whatever reason. Nor is the public informed on how long the cut-off is likely to last. Water shortage occurs mostly in the high lying areas.255 The other challenge identified was at the water treatment plants (WTPs). Some of them have been in existence for more than 50 years and are in a bad state of maintenance. Due to population growth the capacity of almost all the WTPs is insufficient to provide a steady water supply to residents. Due to budgetary constraints and lack of proper planning sometimes the required chlorination process does not take place at the WTPs.256

Sanitation Services (wastewater and sewage disposal systems) There are informal settlements where community members still use the bucket system for toilets. Others have no other option but to relieve themselves in the bushes.257 Those making use of the bucket toilets reported that the municipality does not empty the buckets regularly. As a result they end up digging holes in their yards to empty the buckets. They then wash the buckets and dispose of 249. RMP OI 2, 2011.10.06.

250. QTA OI 1, 2011.10.04.

251. VZAS OI 01, 2011.10.04.

252. VZAS OI 02, 2011.10.04.

253. VZAS OI 01, 2011.10,04.

254. VZAS OI 01, 2011.10.04.

255. QTA, OI 01 2011.10.05.

256. RMP GI 1, 2011.10.03.

257. RMP OI 2, 2011.10.06.

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the soiled water in the streets. The living conditions at these informal settlements are so squalid that they pose a distinct health hazard and have a negative impact on the environment. Some respondents willingly travelled with the researchers to show them points where sewage pollution was particularly bad.258 The research team identified numerous sewage blockages flowing into storm-water drains, other water bodies and open land; these formed wetlands of sewage. Pump stations were malfunctioning and others were completely non-functional. In some areas raw sewage flows directly into residents’ premises to the extent that they are unable to gain access to their properties. One particularly angry and frustrated resident desperate to make his complaint heard, went as far as to throw a bucket of sewage into the lobby of the municipal offices.259

During the site visits to various wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) it was found that many were not functioning fully. The result is that the municipality is releasing untreated sewage effluent directly into the environment. In some instances the oxidation ponds, which are no longer in operation, are still used for night soil disposal. A huge amount of screenings was also disposed of in the primary oxidation pond. Lack of maintenance and good housekeeping are a serious challenge in all the plants.

Integration: the challenge for the environmental health in Moqhaka On 1 July 2004 environmental health services were transferred from the four local municipalities of Ngwathe, Mafube, Moqhaka and Metsimaholo to FezileDabi District Municipality. This was not a new governance responsibility, but merely a shift in authority from the level of local municipalities to that of district and metropolitan municipalities.260 Since then, district municipalities have taken charge of municipal health services as per definition in the National Health Act, 61 of 2003. It also has a direct bearing on their responsibilities in respect of environmental health. This act requires of municipal health services to oversee:

• water quality monitoring; • food control; • waste management; • surveillance of premises; • communicable diseases control; • vector control; • environmental pollution control; • disposal of the dead; and • chemical safety.

Excluded from municipal health services, but still part of the overarching environmental health profession’s responsibilities are: port health, malaria control and the control of hazardous substances (SA, 2003). The exclusion of the latter is because provincial governments, through the services of their environmental health practitioners, have the responsibility to render port health services and control malaria and hazardous substances on a more comprehensive level (SA, 2011). National acts

258. QTA GI 1, 2011.10.03.

259. QTA GI 1, 2011.10.03.

260 . SA, 1998

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that support FezileDabi District Municipality in the process of taking control of environmental health services from its respective local municipalities are: the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, 108 of 1996; the Municipal Structures Act, 117 of 1998; and the National Health Act, 61 of 2003. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act, 108 of 1996 is clear on the fact that district municipalities and local municipalities represent a sphere of government in their own right. Chapter 14, Schedule 4 (Part B) of the Constitution identifies municipal health services as a key function in section 155(6) (a) and (7). The Municipal Structures Act, 117 of 1998, section 84 (1) (i) furthermore mandates district municipalities with the responsibility to ensure that municipal health services are rendered in their respective areas as a whole. Section 32(1) of the ‘new’ National Health Act, 61 of 2003 261 also states that metropolitan municipalities and district municipalities must provide municipal health services effectively and equitably in their areas of jurisdiction. A key function of municipal health services – also for the purposes of this study – is water quality monitoring.262 For municipal health services to ensure an effective service to the public as well as access to safe domestic water and an environment that is not harmful to residents’ health and well-being (SA, 1996), it is important for the bigger picture to be taken into account. In short, municipal water quality monitoring needs to link up with similar activities on a regional level, typically at a surface water catchment management level. However, it is important for the environmental health practitioner not only to focus on water quality monitoring by means of sampling and analyses alone. A full ‘assessment’ will be the better approach as it entails a total survey of water management. The transfer of Municipal Health Services (MHS) in 2004 from local municipalities to district municipalities and changes in legislation have left communities with uncertainty and confusion because they were not properly informed on what they can expect from Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) in future and where to get hold of the EHP because a relocation to other offices and buildings also took place. Fragmentation and duplication of services also occurred because of the diversity of training and EHPs that have ended up in several sectors (Health Systems Trust, 1999: 277). Fortunately, the National Health Act, 61 of 2003 (SA, 2003) and the scope of practice of environmental health practitioners (SA, 2009) came to the rescue of this uncertainty and explain exactly what can be expected of an EHP. The scope of practice of environmental health practitioners identifies an EHP as the sole person to implement the functions of environmental health of which water quality monitoring is one of the key functions as per definition in the National Health Act 61 of 2003. In an effort to render effective municipal health services and more specifically ‘water quality monitoring’ as one of the key performance areas, FezileDabi District Municipality has developed a water quality monitoring strategy and made provision in their operational budget for this function. It is however important to understand that FezileDabi District Municipality only do water quality monitoring by means of a once a month audit. Moqhaka Local Municipality is the water service provider as well as the water service authority in their area of jurisdiction. This situation allows for Moqhaka to be both referee and player as far as water provision and management are concerned, which is really not the ideal situation. However, FezileDabi District Municipality, in an effort to provide some support to Moqhaka LM, take water

261 The ‘new’ National Health Act 61, 2003 replaces the previous National Health Act, No. 63 of

1977. However, some sections of Act 63 of 1977 have not yet been repealed.

262. RSA, National Health Act 61, 2003.

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samples once a month, have them analysed at an accredited laboratory, and provide Moqhaka with results and relevant recommendations.

What is a water quality management strategy? Water quality is changed and affected by both natural processes and human activities. Generally, natural water quality varies from place to place, depending on seasonal changes, climatic changes and with the types of soils, rocks and surfaces through which it moves. A variety of human activities e.g. agricultural activities, urban and industrial development, mining and recreation, may alter the quality of natural waters significantly, and this changes the water use potential. The key to sustainable water resources is therefore to ensure that the quality of water resources is suitable for their intended use, while at the same time allowing them to be used and developed to a certain extent. Effective management is the tool through which this is achieved. Water quality management therefore involves the maintenance of the fitness for use of water resources on a sustained basis, by achieving a balance between socio-economic development and environmental protection. From a regulatory point of view the ‘business’ of water quality management entails the ongoing process of planning, development, implementation and administration of water quality management policy, the authorisation of water uses that may have, or potentially have, an impact on water quality, as well as the monitoring and auditing of these processes.263

Need for a water quality management strategy The effects of polluted water on human health, on the aquatic ecosystem (aquatic biota, and in-stream and riparian habitats) and on various sectors of the economy, including agriculture, industry and recreation, can be disastrous. Deteriorating water quality leads to increased treatment costs of potable and industrial process water, and decreased agricultural yields due to increased salinity of irrigation water. On the other hand, not all health, productivity and ecological problems associated with deteriorating water quality can be ascribed to human activity. Many water-quality related problems are inherent in the geological characteristics of the source area. The occurrence, transport and fate in the aquatic environment of numerous persistent and toxic metals and organic compounds (e.g. pesticides), give cause for serious concern. Contamination of groundwater resources or of sediments deposited in riverbeds, impoundments and estuaries by toxic and persistent compounds, may cause irreversible pollution, sometimes long after the original release to the environment has ceased.264 A persistent water quality problem is salination, which has two major causes, natural and anthropogenic. The origin of natural salination of river water is geological. Man-made causes are multiple. A wide variety of human activities are associated with increased releases of salts, some in the short and others in the long term. Immediate increases in salt concentrations result from point sources of pollution, such as the discharging of water containing waste by industries. Diffuse pollution, resulting inter alia from poorly managed urban settlements, waste disposal by landfill and mine residue deposits, pose an even bigger problem, because it impacts on the water resource over a larger area. The effect of diffuse pollution on groundwater is also often problematic in terms of remediation.265 Another major water quality problem is eutrophication which is the enrichment of water with the plant nutrients nitrate and phosphate. This encourages the growth of microscopic green plants 263. Fezile Dabi District Municipality (FDDM), Water quality management strategy 2011/12,

(2011) p. 3.

264. FDDM, Water quality management strategy 2011/12. p. 3.

265. Ibid., p. 3.

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termed algae. As nutrients are present in sewage effluent, the problem is accentuated wherever there is a concentration of humans or animals. The algae cause problems in water purification, e.g. undesirable tastes and odours, and the possible production of trihalomethanes or other potentially carcinogenic products in water that is treated with chlorine for potable purposes.266 In the Moqhaka municipal area, residents are complaining a great deal about tap water with a bad taste, smell and colour.267 Water contamination by faecal matter is the medium for the spread of diseases such as dysentery, cholera and typhoid.268 Moqhaka Local Municipality as one of the four local municipalities in the FezileDabi District Municipality shares in the overall objectives of the FezileDabi District Municipality Water Quality Monitoring Strategy. The main objectives are:

• Collection of water samples to obtain reliable data. • Collection of water samples to control and monitor. • Building of capacity. • Provision of specialist technical and strategic support. • Sharing of information on drinking water quality with the community. • Monitoring and auditing the sample results from local municipalities. • Management of water quality monitoring related information. • Promotion of transparent decision taking through co-operative governance and participative

management. • Education of the community on water conservation. • Inception and development of a water quality database. • Development of an understanding of the water system. • Identifying and addressing issues that require urgent attention. • Provision of expert guidance with regard to management and upgrading of the water system. • Training of municipal staff to run a suitable and successful water quality management

programme. • Ensuring the continuous improvement of water quality management. • Promotion of cooperative governance across all spheres of management.

Monitoring plan The water quality monitoring strategy of FezileDabi District Municipality makes provision for sampling and analyses of water for domestic use (including borehole water); recreational water (pans, rivers and pools); and wastewater treatment plant final effluent.

266. Ibid., p. 4.

267. VZAS GI 01, 2011.10.03.

268. FDDM, Water quality management strategy 2011/12, pp. 5-6.

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FezileDabi District Municipality budgeted R200 000 for the entire district for sample testing of both food (including milk samples) and water samples during the 2011/2012 financial year. The latest addition to the organisational structure of FezileDabi District Municipality is a laboratory technician who is trained and equipped to do microbiological and chemical tests on water samples. This will help to save money because it will no longer be necessary to outsource all sample analyses. Expenditure related to communication, education and awareness on water and sanitation matters is budgeted for under a separate vote earmarked for environmental health projects.

The researchers’ preliminary observations suggest that local government, as far as environmental health services are concerned, is working in silos. Intergovernmental relations forums exist on strategic management level in government, but there is no effective cooperation and integration on operational level between neighbouring local authorities. In most administrative local government offices the Batho Pele principles are just eloquent words pasted to the office wall. There is hardly any involvement from civil society in addressing water quality related challenges. Transparency is a problem because there is no effective stakeholder participation. Municipalities are currently withholding information on water quality challenges and other information from the public. It is therefore of utmost importance that isolated initiatives in municipal health services be merged into joint inter-governmental relations and proper community involvement. The only way to ensure the safety of water and a safe and healthy environment for all is by means of treating the challenges of water quality monitoring in a transboundary, integrated and multidisciplinary manner.

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Recommendations • A start should be made for setting up a water forum. This should be done in consultation

with external facilitators, such as Mvula Trust where policy analyst Victor Munnik has been at the helm of working in conjunction with CuDyWat on a Citizens Assembly to improve interaction between the water sector and civil society.

• The Moqhaka Municipal Health office should initiate an integrated water monitoring strategy as a pilot project. Among the activities of the entity should be to do efficient and continuous water sampling.

• FezileDabi District Municipality and Moqhaka Local Municipality should begin working on a strategy and also actively implement it with the objective of sharing water quality and network information.

• There should be greater cohesion and support for Moqhaka Local Municipality in performing its dual role as a water services provider and a water services authority.

• There should also be a concerted effort to promote greater transparency in the water sector and a willingness to communicate effectively with all stakeholders, especially the public, on matters relating to local water and sanitations services.

• There is a need for greater discipline and an orderly system in the water and sanitation sector of Moqhaka Local Municipality. The objective should be to give substance to the basic tenets of integrated water resource management (IWRM). The local municipality, as water authority and service provider, is responsible for providing all sectors of the local municipal area of jurisdiction with an essential natural resource. Everybody needs it. Therefore it is necessary to introduce a functional system of discipline and order. Officials need to start working on the plants in an orderly and well-managed way. It is not a matter of putting a ‘militarised’ system into place; instead a framework is needed in which certain crucial areas of work must be addressed with a far greater degree of alacrity and intensity for the benefit of service users at large.

• Environmental health education needs to be promoted in the regional community of Moqhaka Local Municipality. Environmental Health Practitioners, in conjunction with specialist educators should introduce basic but essential knowledge in all sectors of the rural and local urban communities.

• Hygiene education needs to be stepped up and implemented, especially at the schools in Moqhaka Local Municipality. Strategies of social learning should be employed to turn school communities into micro entities, operating within the framework of nuclear catchment management agencies.

• There should also be educationbal opportunities for people to become familiar with the geohydrology of Moqhala Local Municipality’s area of jurisdiction in order to understand where their water comes from and what happens when the water has been used.

• The district municipality and the local municipality must involve DWA in an effort to establish a water forum in Moqhaka in terms of the requirements of the National Water Act.

• FezileDabi District Municipality Municipal Health Services should facilitate the initiative of an integrated water sampling strategy in Moqhaka Local Municipality’s area of jurisdiction,

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as part of its water quality monitoring function in terms of the National Health Act 61 of 2003 and the existing guidelines for environmental health practitioners.269

• Moqhaka Local Municipality and FezileDabi District Municipality should develop and implement an effective communications strategy as soon as possible. This must then communicate all water and sanitation related information to the public in order to comply fully with Batho Phele principles, for example as far as information sharing and transparency are concerned.

• The social media should also be investigated as a form of communication because many of the residents have access to Facebook, for example.

269. See Regulation R698/2009. Department of Health (DOH), “Scope of Practice for

Environmental Health Practitioners”, in Government Gazette, No. 32334, 2009.06.26.

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Environmental health and the hydrosphere in Moqhaka Local Municipality, Free State, South Africa

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