In Emfuleni, the sewage crisis has persisted for years, forcing residents to live alongside raw effluent, polluted streets, and contaminated water systems.
In April 2025, the South African Human Rights Commission subpoenaed Emfuleni Local Municipality over the ongoing sewage crisis and the health hazards it poses to communities. That alone should have shocked the country into action.
But it didn’t! This is not only an Emfuleni problem. Ekurhuleni has also faced recurring sewer blockages and spillages, while the City itself continues to list blocked sewers, missing manhole covers and related sanitation failures among reportable public service faults.
Ekurhuleni’s own budget documents also acknowledge that upgrades and replacements are needed to help eliminate sewer spillages.
Raw sewage in communities is an assault on dignity, health and safety. It affects children, the elderly, workers and families who are expected to endure conditions no democratic society should accept.
The right to sanitation is inseparable from the rights to dignity, health and an environment that is not harmful to wellbeing. When sewage runs through streets and into rivers for months or years, this is no longer merely an infrastructure failure. It is a governance failure, an environmental failure, and a constitutional failure.
The DA is the only party that can end the suffering inflicted upon Gauteng residents by poor sanitation. We are ready to act decisively by conducting a comprehensive audit of our existing infrastructure and fast-tracking critical repairs and replacements to ensure that no community lives in filth.
Kingsol Chabalala MPL, DA Emfuleni North Constituency Head
Kingsol Chabalala
iol.co.za
