Matjhabeng Municipality fined R250,000 for contempt of court over sewage spill
Image: Supplied
The troubled Matjhabeng Local Municipality and its acting municipal manager, Thabo Panyani, have been found guilty of contempt of court and fined R250,000 after failing to address sewage spillage into business premises.
The sewage spillage into Nashua Welkom has been the subject of court proceedings dating back to 2021.
In September 2022, then-municipal manager Zingisa Tindleni was ordered to take all steps necessary to ensure full and timely compliance with the Free State High Court decision forcing the municipality to repair the sewage system and provide updates to Nashua Welkom's attorneys monthly until the repairs are finalised.
The municipality was also ordered to take all the necessary steps and ensure that temporary mobile pumps, which regulate the flow of sewerage within the interim installed pumps, are kept in place.
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Additionally, the municipality was told to take all precautionary steps to avoid, in the interim, any possible contamination and/or associated problems/issues/damages with the sewage lines/infrastructure and the proper and effective flow thereof up until the final date of resolution of the matter as ordered.
Parties in the matter were then allowed to approach the court on the same papers, and duly supplemented, if need be, for the further directives and or orders in the event of a change of circumstances or non-compliance with the terms of the order.
In December last year, Nashua Welkom and the municipality agreed that as reasonably possible in the interim, the municipality will pump the sewerage lines at or near the company's premises in Welkom twice a day and, if necessary, and the circumstances change, as at rainfall, the municipality shall ensure that the pumping of the sewerage line is done at regular intervals, including jet pumping to address any emergency to avoid any possible contamination and/or associated problems/issues, including damages to its property.
In addition, the municipality also undertook to clean any current sewerage spills at Nashua Welkom's premises and surrounding areas to avoid any further pollution and or health risks and keep a logbook to be signed by the operator as well as the company immediately after the pumping.
However, the company approached the high court, arguing that the municipality had failed to comply with the order, and Acting Judge Suzanne Boonzaaier agreed last Thursday, June 5.
'In the circumstances, wilfulness could be inferred, placing an evidential burden on the respondents (the municipality and Panyani) to raise a reasonable doubt as to whether their non-compliance was wilful or in bad faith,' she found.
Nashua Welkom had wanted Panyani to be imprisoned for six months or such as the court might find appropriate and on conditions it deems appropriate.
But Acting Judge Boonzaaier ruled that previous court orders were issued when different officials held office in the local municipality.
'In my view, it would be inappropriate to attribute that responsibility to the current acting official in his personal capacity, particularly given the temporary nature of his position,' stated the acting judge.
She was, however, not persuaded that the municipality and Panyani made every reasonable effort to comply with the court order, as the issue persists, and its impact continues to be felt not only by Nashua Welkom but also by the general public.
Acting Judge Boonzaaier declared Matjhabeng and Panyani to be in contempt of court by failing to comply with three orders and ordered them to pay a fine of R250,000 to Nashua Welkom.
The fine was wholly suspended for six months on condition that the municipality and Panyani purge their contempt.
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