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ActionSA is deeply concerned that the eThekwini Municipality, and particularly City Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, continues to mislead the public about the true state of affairs at Ohlanga Sewerage Pump-station, and the amount of sewage flowing into the Ohlanga River. 

During yesterday's site visit, we determined that the pump-station had been fixed, however, it is not operational as the reticulation system around the pump station remains broken. 

A few metres away from the pump-station sits a sewer drain where a flood of raw sewage continues to spew unceasingly into the Ohlanga River, which feeds into beaches in Umhlanga.

In a recent interview with Times Live, City Spokesperson, Msawakhe Mayisela, confirmed that the pump-station had been commissioned, and the flow into the Ohlanga River had been halted, which directly contradicts what we saw during our in-loco site inspection, and we, therefore, call on the Municipality to be truthful as their actions continue to put the lives and health of beachgoers at risk. 

Based on the amount of sewage which continues to flow into the Ohlanga and Umgeni Rivers, it is inconceivable that the Umhlanga beaches will be opened anytime soon. In this regard, the Mayor’s comments that these beaches will be opened by 1 December 2022 are entirely reckless. 

Whilst recent readings of E-coli at the Umhlanga beaches have been low, a change in the current form south to north or north to south, can lead to E-coli changing to dangerous levels in a short period of time. The health of residents, tourists and employees of the city must take priority.

During our inspection, we visited other beaches within the vicinity and found that Battery Beach was open to the public and water quality readings showed that the water quality status was "Good", however, an E-coli sample was last taken on the 18 October 2022, which demonstrations that the Municipality is breaching proper protocol to have all beaches tested for E-coli levels every two weeks for the most accurate readings. 

Although the Municipality seems to be "hard at work" to fix damaged pump-stations in the city to meet their 1 December deadline, we believe that they are cutting corners and are not conducting proper inspections on the infrastructure before and after they have repaired it in order to be sure that the pump-station is fully functional, those reticulation systems are operational, and sewage drains are not overflowing. 

With three months to go until the matter is heard in court, ActionSA will continue to fight for residents, businesses and tourists of eThekwini. 

Issued by ActionSA KwaZulu-Natal Chairperson Zwakele Mncwango