High Court orders action on eThekwini sewage crisis
The High Court in Pietermaritzburg has delivered the first part of its judgement in the matter that’s been described as a sewage crisis in eThekwini.
The joint litigation was brought by Action SA and later the DA in KwaZulu-Natal, in a case that the parties say is aimed at holding the municipality accountable.
The DA says eThekwini Municipality broke environmental management laws by releasing untreated sewage into rivers and the sea.
Among other things, the City has been ordered to publish E.coli level results for all public beaches and implement an action plan to fix and maintain sewage infrastructure.
"For far too long, the political leadership of eThekwini have taken the public for granted and have been ignoring the scores of complaints regarding sewer overflows into our rivers and oceans," says the DA's Haniff Hoosen.
"Every attempt to secure reasonable and urgent mitigating measures form the municipality have been ignored and this left us with no other option but to force the municipality to do what it is legally obligated to do.
"The DA remains committed to ensuring that the sewer crisis is completely eradicated and will continue to do every in our power to restore our city to a safe and healthy living environment."
Action SA accused the City of violating residents’ constitutional rights to a clean and safe environment.
The party says it will await the High Court’s judgment on its application, which has been separated.
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