Emfuleni Municipality Administrator Gilberto Martins says the municipality takes full accountability for the pollution of the Vaal River.
He attributes the Vaal River crisis to financial constraints and ageing wastewater infrastructure.
The municipality was put under administration in 2018 following a R1-million irregular expenditure bill.
It also owes Eskom R2.7-billion.
“It is important to note that the government, having understood the major issues in December 2018 put a financial recovery plan which addressed service delivery,” Martins said.
“In August 2020 they put under administration three key areas, these include sewage, financial management, supply chain management and service delivery. Unfortunately, we have a system that is not proactively maintained.
“There’s no proper maintenance plan. The system cannot deal with the pressure. The effect is a broadband effect and what we need to do now is ensure that we get a sustainable methodology of achieving this.”
(Source: eNCA)