AfriForum announced on Thursday it had laid criminal charges against April Ntuli, the municipal manager of the Emfuleni local municipality, for the dumping of raw sewage into the Vaal river in the municipality.
“This large-scale spillage provides, among other things, a favourable breeding ground for several invasive plant species, including water lettuce, the occurrence of which has increased alarmingly since the end of last year,” AfriForum said in a statement.
AfriForum also criticised the national government for its lack of commitment to tackling the spread of water lettuce.
AfriForum said, together with several other organisations and community members, it had “been working hard for months to limit the spread of the invasive species and thereby protect the sensitive Vaal river ecosystem”.
“Though the government has already convened numerous meetings with the community, they are taking months to approve specific actions to tackle the problem.
“In the end, it always comes down to the community to put their hands in their pockets and get to work to fight this natural disaster,” said Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s regional head for the central region.
Grobbelaar said during a recent public meeting, government officials had said the government had only R2m available to spend on the Vaal river crisis.
He said this was though forestry, fisheries and the environment Barbara Creecy launched a R2.6bn programme “Working for Water” in November last year for the control of alien invasive species and the restoration of natural habitats.
Grobbelaar said while the community spent more than R6m and volunteers worked 80 days on the Vaal river to remove more than 168,000 cubic metres of water lettuce since the start of the year, the government had not removed any water lettuce “but had held numerous meetings to discuss this issue”.
TimesLIVE
AfriForum charges Emfuleni manager for dumping sewage into Vaal river
Community spent R6m and volunteers worked 80 days to clear river while government 'held numerous meetings'
Image: AfriForum
AfriForum announced on Thursday it had laid criminal charges against April Ntuli, the municipal manager of the Emfuleni local municipality, for the dumping of raw sewage into the Vaal river in the municipality.
“This large-scale spillage provides, among other things, a favourable breeding ground for several invasive plant species, including water lettuce, the occurrence of which has increased alarmingly since the end of last year,” AfriForum said in a statement.
AfriForum also criticised the national government for its lack of commitment to tackling the spread of water lettuce.
AfriForum said, together with several other organisations and community members, it had “been working hard for months to limit the spread of the invasive species and thereby protect the sensitive Vaal river ecosystem”.
“Though the government has already convened numerous meetings with the community, they are taking months to approve specific actions to tackle the problem.
“In the end, it always comes down to the community to put their hands in their pockets and get to work to fight this natural disaster,” said Jaco Grobbelaar, AfriForum’s regional head for the central region.
Grobbelaar said during a recent public meeting, government officials had said the government had only R2m available to spend on the Vaal river crisis.
He said this was though forestry, fisheries and the environment Barbara Creecy launched a R2.6bn programme “Working for Water” in November last year for the control of alien invasive species and the restoration of natural habitats.
Grobbelaar said while the community spent more than R6m and volunteers worked 80 days on the Vaal river to remove more than 168,000 cubic metres of water lettuce since the start of the year, the government had not removed any water lettuce “but had held numerous meetings to discuss this issue”.
TimesLIVE
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