Note to Editors: Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Cllr Richard van Wyk and Sesotho soundbite by David Masoeu MPL. See attached pictures here and here.
– Original contractor’s failure prolonged the suffering of residents.
– The DA will push for answers on the final project cost and financial penalties imposed.
– When municipalities do not intervene quickly, public money is placed at risk.
The DA will closely monitor the completed Edenburg Wastewater Treatment Works project to ensure that it functions effectively, is properly maintained, and delivers lasting relief to residents who have endured sewage flowing through their streets for years.
The DA welcomes the completion of this important project in the Kopanong section of Edenburg. Residents have lived with repeated sewer spillages, unbearable conditions and serious health risks for far too long. The completion of the wastewater treatment works should help prevent sewage from continuing to flow through residential streets and restore a basic level of dignity, safety and environmental health to the community.
We recognise and commend the Kopanong technical team, particularly the Technical Director, for ensuring that the project was ultimately completed. Where officials act with determination and ensure that public infrastructure is delivered, that work should be acknowledged.
Reliable sanitation is one of the most fundamental basic services and is essential to protecting public health and rebuilding residents’ trust in local government.
However, it must also be remembered that this project suffered serious delays. The first contractor reportedly made little or no meaningful progress on site, resulting in the termination of that contract. A second contractor had to be appointed to complete the work. This caused unnecessary delays and prolonged the suffering of residents who continued to live with sewage in their streets.
This experience demonstrates why proper contract management, regular oversight and consequence management are essential. When contractors fail to perform, and municipalities do not intervene quickly, projects stall, public money is placed at risk and communities are denied services. Delayed sanitation projects also create unsafe living conditions, increase the risk of infection and damage the local environment.
The DA will therefore request clarity on the final project cost, the reasons for the original contractor’s failure, any financial penalties imposed, and the maintenance plan that will now be implemented. Completion alone is not enough; the infrastructure must remain operational and must be protected from neglect and future breakdowns.
We will continue to use oversight to promote reliable basic services, transparent procurement and accountability. When elected to govern, the DA will ensure stronger project monitoring, faster intervention when contractors fail, and infrastructure programmes that are completed on time and deliver measurable improvements.
The residents of Edenburg deserve sanitation with dignity. This project must now become an example of what proper technical intervention can achieve, rather than another facility that is completed and then allowed to deteriorate.