The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) plans to assist Rooiwal farmers with instituting legal action against the Tshwane Metro Council for the ongoing collapse of the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works and the Metro’s blatant disregard for existing court orders.
This step follows a claim by the Mayor, Dr Nasiphi Moya, during her State of the City Address that there is “no water crisis” – a statement that directly contradicts the reality in Rooiwal.
While the Mayor denies any crises, sewage pollution and fungal infections are destroying crops along the Apies River. Farmers are forced to use crops, grown at enormous input costs, as green fodder because they are unfit for human consumption.
The Freedom Front Plus’s mayoral candidate, Willie Spies, will assist a local farmer, Mr Theuns Vogel, in his lawsuit to hold the Metro accountable.
The lawsuit revolves around the Metro’s failure to comply with court orders instructing it to urgently upgrade the Rooiwal Waste Water Treatment Works, stop dumping untreated sewage into the Apies River, regularly report to the court on its progress with infrastructure projects, and supply clean drinking water to the community while the water sources remain polluted.
Despite these clear directives, infrastructure has decayed even further. Since the Metro switched from private contractors to its own, the supply of drinking water has kept deteriorating as well.
This has caused mounting tension and conflict, while farmers and residents still depend on water tankers to meet their basic needs.
What was once a progressive agricultural community, is now on the brink of utter ruin. Without an immediate and sustainable solution to ensure access to clean water, farmers will simply not survive.
This crisis not only affects a small group of producers, but also has serious implications for food security and the local economy.
The Freedom Front Plus cannot allow the Metro Council to treat court orders as optional while farmers’ livelihoods are destroyed.
This lawsuit is a vital step to enforce accountability and restore the rights of the Rooiwal community.
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Fun South African Fact: The Karoo region in the Western Cape is home to some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs. In fact, it is estimated that some 80% of the mammalian fossils found to date were found in the Karoo.