Despite the formation of the Government of National Unity and the KZN Government of Provincial Unity over a year ago, the eThekwini Sewage Crisis has gotten worse.
In recognition of the cooperative governance framework in South Africa, the court papers ActionSA filed in November 2022 did not just cite the eThekwini Municipality but also Ministers and MECs in key portfolios.
As this matter proceeds to court this week, many of those Ministers and MECs come from political parties in coalition with the ANC nationally and in KwaZulu-Natal. The irony is that despite the involvement of other parties in national and provincial government, the crisis facing residents of eThekwini has deepened.
Importantly, several of these parties hold key ministerial positions that give them the authority to drive improvements in eThekwini:
- Environment, Forestry and Fisheries – Minister Dion George and Deputy Minister Narend Singh
- Cooperative Governance – Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa
- Tourism – Minister Patricia de Lille
- Public Works and Infrastructure – Minister Dean Macpherson
- Water and Sanitation: Deputy Minister Sello Seitlholo
Likewise, within the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, MECs Francois Rodgers (Finance), Martin Meyer (Public Works and Infrastructure), and Thulasizwe Buthelezi (Cooperative Governance) have overseen portfolios that should have been instrumental in addressing the eThekwini sewage crisis.
While South Africans have spent a fortune on Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and MECs, including funding their lavish perks and international travel, little to nothing has been done to compel improvements from the failing eThekwini Municipality.
Environmental legislation should have been used to criminally prosecute senior officials and the Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, but this never happened. Infrastructure programmes, coordinated between national and provincial governments, could have delivered solutions to the crisis. Finance portfolios should have ring-fenced funding for dedicated interventions and investigated the whereabouts of funds allocated in the aftermath of the floods. Meanwhile, Cooperative Governance portfolios had the power to place eThekwini under administration yet failed to act.
The failures of the ANC in addressing this crisis are well known, well documented, and require little attention. It is the failures of the ANC’s coalition partners in national and provincial government that require the attention of residents of eThekwini and South Africans more broadly.
As ActionSA approaches these court proceedings, we do so with a clear track record of never wavering in this fight for the residents of eThekwini, who should rightly ask themselves why the ANC’s coalition partners in the GNU and GPU have done nothing while in office to address this crisis.
The eThekwini Sewage Crisis Has Deepened Despite GNU And KZN GPU Being In Office
Despite the formation of the Government of National Unity and the KZN Government of Provincial Unity over a year ago, the eThekwini Sewage Crisis has gotten worse.
In recognition of the cooperative governance framework in South Africa, the court papers ActionSA filed in November 2022 did not just cite the eThekwini Municipality but also Ministers and MECs in key portfolios.
As this matter proceeds to court this week, many of those Ministers and MECs come from political parties in coalition with the ANC nationally and in KwaZulu-Natal. The irony is that despite the involvement of other parties in national and provincial government, the crisis facing residents of eThekwini has deepened.
Importantly, several of these parties hold key ministerial positions that give them the authority to drive improvements in eThekwini:
Likewise, within the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government, MECs Francois Rodgers (Finance), Martin Meyer (Public Works and Infrastructure), and Thulasizwe Buthelezi (Cooperative Governance) have overseen portfolios that should have been instrumental in addressing the eThekwini sewage crisis.
While South Africans have spent a fortune on Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and MECs, including funding their lavish perks and international travel, little to nothing has been done to compel improvements from the failing eThekwini Municipality.
Environmental legislation should have been used to criminally prosecute senior officials and the Mayor of eThekwini Municipality, but this never happened. Infrastructure programmes, coordinated between national and provincial governments, could have delivered solutions to the crisis. Finance portfolios should have ring-fenced funding for dedicated interventions and investigated the whereabouts of funds allocated in the aftermath of the floods. Meanwhile, Cooperative Governance portfolios had the power to place eThekwini under administration yet failed to act.
The failures of the ANC in addressing this crisis are well known, well documented, and require little attention. It is the failures of the ANC’s coalition partners in national and provincial government that require the attention of residents of eThekwini and South Africans more broadly.
As ActionSA approaches these court proceedings, we do so with a clear track record of never wavering in this fight for the residents of eThekwini, who should rightly ask themselves why the ANC’s coalition partners in the GNU and GPU have done nothing while in office to address this crisis.