Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by David Mc Kay MPL and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will write to the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) and the Free State Provincial Government to request the urgent deployment of emergency technical intervention teams to rehabilitate the failing wastewater treatment works in Boshof, Dealesville, and Hertzogville following the alarming findings contained in the recently released GD25 Green Drop Report for 2026.
Key findings raised by the report include, among many, a critical state of all Wastewater Treatment Works. Boshof ponds, Dealesville, and Hertzogville are all classified as “critical,” with a combined Green Drop score of 18%, well below the 90% national benchmark for excellence.
The municipality also has no Qualified Personnel and no registered supervisors or process controllers, leaving the wastewater plants effectively unmanaged.
The municipality’s average Catchment Remediation Rate (CRR) deviation is 84.5%, placing the systems in the “high risk” category for pollution and public health hazards, leading to widespread environmental contamination and diseases such as TB, Diarrhoea, and Parasitic illnesses.
This uncaring municipality has no effluent compliance monitoring at its treatment works and has submitted no results to the national IRIS system, thereby concealing failures, which is a gross violation of the Constitution and an accountability failure.
This situation is not only a technical failure but a governance crisis. The GD25 Report estimates that R1.48 billion is required to restore the Free State’s wastewater infrastructure, with Tokologo among the worst contributors to the collapse.
They must also immediately appoint registered process controllers and supervisors, in line with Regulation 3630, and ringfence water services grants for wastewater rehabilitation to ensure funds are not diverted.
Tokologo must also implement a Wastewater Risk Abatement Plan (W2RAP) within 60 days, with quarterly compliance reporting to both the municipal council and DWS.
The minister should, as a last resort, investigate governance failures in this municipality and hold accountable those responsible for neglecting statutory duties, while also instituting criminal charges for the harm caused to both the environment and living species.