Green Scorpions secure R150m fine and criminal conviction for Vaal sewage leaks

John Maytham interviews Tony Carnie, Freelance Environment Journalist.

Listen below.

The Green Scorpions have once again made headlines, securing a historic R150 million fine and a criminal court conviction against a local municipality for polluting the Vaal River, residential areas, and farmland with untreated sewage.

Carnie, in his latest piece for the Daily Maverick titled "Scorpions sting hard on Vaal sewage leaks after record R150m fine – but why no action elsewhere?", reports on this development.

The court has mandated that the fine be utilised to restore the collapsed wastewater infrastructure in the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality within the next three years.

Carnie poses the following questions:

• Who bears the burden of this fine: are ratepayers responsible or municipal authorities?
• In the case of the latter, what occurs if municipalities plead poverty, contending that they lack the funds to address the issues?
• Do these fines serve as a meaningful deterrent for recurring lapses by council officials who neglect their duties?

This conviction has been hailed as a stern warning to municipalities nationwide regarding accountability, however, there is little evidence to suggest that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) is pursuing similar measures in other provinces. 

RELATED: How citizen scientists are helping clean up SA's sewage leaks

"It comes as welcomed news in a country where this offence is happening at an increasing frequency."

- Tony Carnie, Freelance Environment Journalist

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