Buffalo City Metro mayor Princess Faku has blamed vandalism and cable theft for ongoing problems with water quality and electricity outages in the metro, while also calling on residents to take responsibility for protecting infrastructure in their neighbourhoods.
In a statement published on the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) website, Faku dismissed claims residents were being supplied with sewage-contaminated water.
Her response followed a report by Dispatch sister paper Go! & Express, which found that several of the metro’s water and wastewater treatment plants were operating below standard or were non-functional.
Faku said damage to wastewater treatment plants was largely the result of vandalism and cable theft, which was a national problem.
“Our municipality, like many across the country, has experienced serious challenges at certain wastewater treatment plants, largely driven by vandalism, cable theft and deliberate destruction of critical infrastructure,” she said.
Our municipality, like many across the country, has experienced serious challenges at certain wastewater treatment plants, largely driven by vandalism, cable theft and deliberate destruction of critical infrastructure.
“In some cases, this vandalism has been so severe that treatment processes have been disrupted or temporarily rendered non-functional.
“These challenges do not mean that sewage is contaminating our drinking water.
“Raw water entering our water treatment works is routinely tested, and where wastewater plants are identified as higher risk due to vandalism or operational challenges, monitoring is intensified, not reduced,” Faku said.
Two of the plants flagged as major concerns were the Zwelitsha Wastewater Treatment Works and the Schornville Wastewater Treatment Works.
According to Faku, Zwelitsha is not yet fully operational due to ongoing construction, while Schornville had been severely vandalised.
She said significant work was under way at Zwelitsha, with upgrades expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The municipality has also decided to divert flows from Schornville to Zwelitsha.
“The Zwelitsha Wastewater Treatment Works is currently undergoing a structured upgrade programme,” Faku said.
“Significant work has been completed, and the remaining scope is at an advanced procurement stage.
“These upgrades are planned to be fully completed by December 2026.
“The Schornville Wastewater Treatment Works has unfortunately been severely vandalised.
“The municipality has taken a strategic decision to divert flows from Schornville to Zwelitsha,” Faku said.
She said the municipality was implementing a three-year Wastewater Infrastructure Plan, with nearly R500m allocated to refurbishments and security upgrades.
The plan, now in its second year, focuses on restoring functionality at wastewater treatment works and pump stations, while strengthening security to protect infrastructure.
EFF regional chair Mziyanda Hlekiso said an oversight visit to several plants showed the municipality was failing to protect key sites.
“The Buffalo City municipality is not doing enough to prevent [vandalism] or protect its sites,” Hlekiso said.
“The security guard that is there [at the Phakamisa plant] from Man B Security is [allegedly] not getting paid, he is not armed, he operates alone, and at night there is no security.
“In Schornville — the BCM gave up on it. There is no security.
“All that comes out from Schornville, goes straight into the river.
“When we did an oversight the year before last, Schornville was not in the state it is in now.
“There is no care given to municipal properties, there is no proper accountability on infrastructure,” he said.
Hlekiso said BCM officials needed to be held accountable and should prove that the water was safe.
“Even in our meetings, BCM officials don’t drink tap water — they drink bottled water,” he said.
DA chief whip Anathi Majeke said the situation pointed to deeper systemic failures.
According to Majeke, only 20% of wastewater treatment plants in the metro were fully operational.
“The mayor attributes the bulk of the system’s failure of BCM’s wastewater treatment works to vandalism, cable theft and deliberate destruction,” Majeke said.
“However, this overlooks a staggering operational deficit: only three of the 15 wastewater treatment works in BCM are currently operational.
“A 20% functionality rate points to a much deeper issue than criminal activity alone.
“It suggests a protracted lack of routine infrastructure maintenance and a failure to implement lifecycle asset management.
“Infrastructure does not collapse to this extent solely due to external interference, it often requires a foundation of internal neglect.”
She said the Schornville plant had been neglected and had been a known environmental risk for years.
“The promised R500m investment is a reactive cost to restore what should have been protected by proactive governance and basic security measures years ago,” Majeke said.
“While the separation of wastewater and drinking water systems is a technical fact, the discharge of untreated sewage into local river systems poses a massive long-term risk to the ecological health of the region, which indirectly affects the ‘raw water’ quality the mayor claims to monitor so closely.”
Faku said all vandalised wastewater treatment plants and critical pump stations were scheduled to be secured and refurbished within the next two to three years.
Earlier in January, Faku blamed vandalism and cable theft for prolonged electricity outages in Amalinda.
She said residents should help protect infrastructure in their communities.
“At times, we must take collective responsibility.”
In December, BCM repeatedly urged residents to boil their water following problems at the Umzonyana Water Treatment Works, which resulted in poor water quality in parts of East London and Mdantsane.
The advisory warned that drinking untreated water could cause diarrhoea, cramps, nausea, headaches and other symptoms, posing particular risks to infants, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems.
The Umzonyana works and Vincent Reservoir have also been at low levels in recent weeks, highlighting ongoing water supply challenges in the metro.
Daily Dispatch
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