The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has raised alarm over a worsening sewage crisis affecting the Cradle of Humankind, warning that pollution linked to a failing wastewater treatment plant is threatening tourism, jobs and one of the world’s most important archaeological heritage sites.
DA Gauteng spokesperson for Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation Leanne De Jager said the crisis stems from recurring failures at the Percy Stewart Wastewater Treatment Plant in Mogale City.
According to De Jager, untreated and partially treated sewage has for nearly two decades flowed from the plant into the Blougatspruit and Bloubankspruit river systems before reaching the Crocodile River and Hartbeespoort Dam.
“Parts of the river system have already been classified as “biologically dead” by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research due to ongoing pollution,” De Jager said. She has warned that the environmental damage now extends beyond surface ecosystems and poses a serious threat to the fragile underground cave systems that make the Cradle of Humankind globally significant.
“These dolomitic formations, which preserve some of the world’s most important human evolutionary fossils and artefacts, are increasingly at risk from contaminated groundwater and chemical instability caused by sewage infiltration,” she added.
De Jager has argued that the deterioration of the UNESCO World Heritage Site undermines South Africa’s responsibility as custodian of a globally recognised heritage area and threatens the tourism economy that supports surrounding communities.
“The site’s scientific and environmental value, which attracts both international researchers and tourists, is being eroded by what it described as Mogale City’s failure to maintain critical infrastructure. We are therefore calling on Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Jacob Mamabolo to urgently intervene and ensure that Mogale City complies with environmental and infrastructure obligations”, she said.
According to the party, it will also submit questions to determine how long sewage discharge from the Percy Stewart plant has been ongoing, what remedial measures have been implemented and what deadlines have been set for permanent repairs.
The DA further warned that continued infrastructure failures could negatively affect efforts to use heritage tourism as a driver of economic growth and job creation in Gauteng.
“It is hard to see how the national goal of leveraging heritage for social and economic benefit can succeed while a UNESCO World Heritage Site deteriorates under sewage pollution,” De Jager said.