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Daily Maverick
07-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Maverick
Sewage spill in Gqeberha forces beach closure ahead of Boks-Italy clash
A major sewage spill has forced the closure of Kings Beach in Gqeberha just days before the Springboks' Test match against Italy, with municipal teams scrambling to trace the source and contain the damage. Just as Gqeberha prepares to host the Springboks and a wave of rugby fans, one of its landmark beaches has been shut down due to a major sewage spill. Kings Beach – in the heart of the city's beachfront tourism hub – is closed, and municipal teams have been out in force since last week to determine the source of a sewage leak that has contaminated a freshwater stream running through the dunes. Officials have also reported more spills at the railway lines between Humerail and the harbour, as well as higher up along Allister Miller Drive, next to the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport. Ward 2 councillor Sean Tappan said the initial leak near the airport was first detected early last week when he, with Ward 1 councillor Dries van der Westhuizen, visited Kings Beach. This led to the municipality closing the beach at the weekend after contractors began their investigation into the origin of the spill. 'The municipal teams are actively tracing the source by inspecting all manhole blockages in the area. This will assist them in determining the best route forward to contain and resolve the issue,' Tappan said on Monday. Battling terrain to trace leaks Municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya confirmed that teams had been on the ground with specialised equipment to trace leaks and clean affected areas since last week. 'This task was made difficult by the presence of swampy terrain, overgrown vegetation and dense trees,' Soyaya said. 'Despite these challenges, progress is being made, and specialised equipment is being deployed to the sites [Monday] and [Tuesday] to speed up the work.' He said contractors began clearing some of the dense vegetation to gain access to manhole covers. This will give them access to drains for more thorough inspections and create the possibility of 'bypass pumping operations' that would allow them to avoid the sections of pipe causing the problem. Honey sucker trucks have been deployed to pump out contaminated water at some of the bigger spills, giving teams easier access to manholes and drains. 'Our teams continue to treat the affected areas to reduce E. coli levels and neutralise unpleasant odours,' Soyaya said. This is the latest in a series of pollution woes that have plagued the Nelson Mandela Bay coastline in recent months. Summerstrand residents often report foul odour coming from stormwater drains along the beachfront due to undetermined contamination, while further down the coast, Brighton Beach has been closed for several months due to leaks emitting from the nearby Fishwater Flats wastewater treatment works. However, Soyaya said the current situation at Kings Beach differs from Brighton Beach, as the cause of the pollution at the latter has already been determined. 'Our first priority now, with regard to Kings Beach, is to find the source of the leak before [we] can fix the problem.' Environmental and health risks mounting Chairperson of the Algoa Bay branch of the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (Wessa), Dr Gary Koekemoer, said the spill would have a limited impact inland and along its route to the sea. 'However, where it reaches the ocean is of major concern. 'From where it originates and along its way to the beach, that area is actually quite dead in terms of the natural ecosystem and indigenous plant life. But ocean life and seaside activities are in danger if this toxic waste keeps seeping into the water.' Koekemoer said there had been reports since last week of open water swimmers, who frequent Kings Beach and surrounds, falling ill. He said this could have an economic impact if it began to affect sporting and tourism activities. 'Bottom line, a sewage spill is never a good thing and it needs to be addressed as soon as possible,' Koekemoer said. Unfortunate timing Soyaya said while the municipality was always committed to resolving such issues as a matter of urgency, the timing of the spill was not ideal with the international rugby Test match between the Springboks and Italy scheduled for this weekend at the NMB Stadium. Tappan said the spill should have a limited impact on tourism, and none of the players was expected to specifically visit Kings Beach this week.' However, the Springbok team was at the Virgin Active gym near the beachfront [on Monday], and the smell from the spill across the road was unfortunate. 'It would be best for everyone if these leaks could be resolved as soon as possible,' Tappan said. DM
Daily Maverick
07-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Nersa approves lower electricity tariff increase, forcing Nelson Mandela Bay to rethink plans
The national energy regulator has granted the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality a slightly lower-than-requested electricity tariff increase, prompting the metro to revise its financial plans. Business and political leaders warn of deepening financial strain, infrastructure failures and rising costs for residents. The Nelson Mandela Bay metro said on Friday that it was taking a second look at its plans and budgets after the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) granted the metro a smaller-than-requested increase for the next financial year. The metro requested a 12.8% increase but was granted only a 12.74% hike for electricity prices. The application for the increase was already controversial. It was also done in the absence of a cost-of-supply study, which will only be undertaken in the coming year. Municipality to revise plans Metro spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the municipality noted and welcomed Nersa's approval of the electricity tariff for the 2025/2026 financial year. 'While the approved tariff of 12.74% is marginally lower than the 12.80% increase the municipality initially applied for, we fully respect Nersa's regulatory mandate and the importance of striking a balance between municipal sustainability and consumer affordability. 'The municipality is mindful that even a 0.06% difference can impact projected revenues, particularly when scaled across our electricity user base. To address this shortfall, we shall be implementing a combination of efficiency measures and financial controls. These include improving internal operational efficiencies, reducing electricity losses and illegal connections, enhancing billing accuracy and strengthening revenue collection,' he said. 'We are going to reprioritise our budgets to ensure that essential electricity infrastructure maintenance and upgrades continue without compromise, while trimming or deferring non-critical expenditures.' Soyaya said the municipality would also intensify efforts to improve the collection of outstanding payments from all user categories, expanding the prepaid electricity footprint and fast-tracking components of the broader Energy Resilience Plan. 'This includes working with partners and exploring embedded generation and cost-efficient energy alternatives to reduce long-term dependency on bulk electricity purchases. 'We shall be taking proactive steps to manage the gap responsibly, and we will continue working with Nersa and our stakeholders to ensure uninterrupted, quality service to the residents of Nelson Mandela Bay,' Soyaya said. Business Chamber 'concerned' The CEO of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, Denise van Huyssteen, said the chamber remained deeply concerned about the sustainability of the municipality's electricity department. 'We note that Nersa has granted approval for the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality's electricity tariffs to increase by an average of 12.8%, effective from 1 July. 'Input costs, such as rising electricity tariffs, have a direct impact on the viability of the operations of businesses. For a number of years we have been deeply concerned about the unsustainability of electricity distribution in the metro, which in the current financial year lost R1.5-billion and is projected to lose R1.8-billion in the next financial year. Key drivers of these losses include electricity theft, illegal connections, meter tampering and the vandalism of infrastructure. 'Solutions which need to urgently be put in place include the reinstatement of the geyser control system, which has the potential to save the municipality up to R200-million a year,as well as deploying effective safety and security measures to prevent vandalism of sub-stations and other vital electricity infrastructure. 'The other issue of high concern is the lack of investment and maintenance in the electricity infrastructure, which is vital to ensure the continuity and reliability of electricity supply. An urgent and vital step, in addressing the infrastructure issues, is securing the technical support of Eskom through their active partnering initiative,' she said. Deal with meter tampering The Democratic Alliance's (DA) mayoral candidate for next year's local government elections, Retief Odendaal, urged the municipality to speed up the roll-out of electricity meters to deal with households that applied for amnesty under a programme that was offered in 2022. He said that after three years, 90% of the about 18,000 households or businesses that applied for amnesty have not received new meters, meaning the municipality is losing a conservative R18-million a month in fees. Ratepayers footing the bill The African Christian Democratic Party's Lance Grootboom said Nersa's tariff increase was four times the inflation rate. 'It is way out of line,' he said. Grootboom said that it is even more disconcerting that the metro's electricity department buys bulk electricity from Eskom for R6.8-billion but, because of meter tampering and illegal connections, makes only R5.4-billion, leaving it with a large deficit. He said ratepayers are paying twice for electricity, as their rates also increased by 5%, to subsidise, among other things, the electricity department's large deficit. Tough choice Speaking in Johannesburg two weeks ago, the national Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, said the rapidly rising cost of electricity is forcing households to choose between food and energy. This came after Johannesburg residents made representations last year to be excluded from an electricity surcharge to bolster the City of Johannesburg's efforts to afford its electricity bill. In November last year while testifying at Nersa's hearing into Eskom's application for a massive tariff increase, Melikhaya Blani from the Eastern Cape Combined Environmental Forum described how many households were already struggling to afford electricity and had to cook on wood. Electricity surcharge Last year the Buffalo City metro, which had similar concerns over the funding of its electricity budget, introduced a service charge to all electricity users. In a response to a question asked by Leander Kruger, the DA's constituency leader for Buffalo City, the MEC for Cooperative Governance in the Eastern Cape legislature confirmed that the service charges range from R376 to R51,484.09 depending on the type of electricity user. The introduction of service charges sparked several protests and legal action against the municipality. DM
Daily Maverick
27-06-2025
- General
- Daily Maverick
Sewage pollution, vandalism to keep Nelson Mandela Bay beach closed until summer
Six months down the line, New Brighton Beach in Nelson Mandela Bay is likely to remain closed until summer as the metro works to rectify sewage pollution and vandalism at the popular seaside facility. In December 2024, the Nelson Mandela Bay metro closed New Brighton Beach due to dangerous levels of contamination after vandalism led to a sewage spill at the nearby Fishwater Flats Sewage works. On Thursday, metro spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the beach would be opened 'before the upcoming summer season'. However, he said that since the closure, beach facilities had been vandalised and the damage would be repaired only in the next financial year. 'The repairs to the Fishwater Flats Water Treatment Works are envisaged to conclude by the end of this month,' he said. Soyaya said the beach would be reopened once there were 'satisfactory results regarding levels'. According to the Auditor-General's report into municipal finances for 2023/2024, Nelson Mandela Bay was the only metro that received a regional bulk infrastructure grant, which is aimed at improving bulk water and sanitation infrastructure. The metro, however, underspent the grant by 41% due to two capital projects that were not launched because of 'implementation challenges', the report said. In its budget for the 2025/2026 financial year, the metro said: 'The Regional Bulk Infrastructure Grant (RBIG) has been allocated to the municipality only for the 2025/26 financial year to the amount of R390-million. This grant was firstly allocated to the city with effect from the 2023/24 [medium term], to deal with water drought-related issues that the city has been confronted with and will, with effect from the 2026/27 financial year, be no longer made available to the City.' Cable theft Final treated effluent is released from Fishwater Flats at two points: New Brighton Beach pier and Papenkuils River canal, but the theft of electrical cables that supplied power to the plant and essential equipment interrupted the treatment process of this effluent. In turn, this led to a massive spill of raw sewage into the sea. It has been reported in municipal statements that R18.8-million has been spent to repair Fishwater Flats. In October last year, Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation Sello Seitlholo visited the facility. He said the water treatment works had 'experienced major destruction to a cost of almost R5-million; the repair is estimated to cost four times that. This has heavily impacted the work being done, which in turn impacts the quality of water being treated and discharged. 'I am fundamentally concerned about the level of vandalism and theft that is happening here. The municipality is losing a couple of million due to theft, and to replace that, it costs them four times what is lost,' he said. 'Dysfunctionality' The DA's mayoral candidate for Nelson Mandela Bay for the upcoming local government elections, Retief Odendaal, said the problem went further than Fishwater Flats. 'Wastewater treatment facilities in Nelson Mandela Bay continue to face serious challenges, exposing the complete dysfunctionality of the current ANC-led administration. Years of neglect and failure to maintain, upgrade, and protect critical sewerage infrastructure have led to persistent pollution of our waterways and coastline. 'While the municipality claims that pollution levels are now acceptable and plans to reopen the beach at the end of June, our inspection today indicates that this is highly unlikely,' he said. The municipality did, however, indicate on Thursday that it would open the beach only 'before summer.' 'I have now written to the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, urging her department to intervene directly in Nelson Mandela Bay and assist in bringing all wastewater treatment works up to the required standards,' Odendaal said. Among the findings made against the municipality by the Auditor-General was that none of the wastewater treatment facilities has valid licences. 'Given the municipality's track record of failing to provide transparent and reliable water quality data, we have called on the minister's department to conduct its independent water quality testing at New Brighton Beach,' Odendaal said. The municipality doesn't make water quality results public unless it receives a Promotion of Access to Information Act application. 'Dangerous contamination' In March this year, ASC Consultants published an independent report showing that between November and December last year, the sea at New Brighton Beach was dangerously contaminated. According to the report, its results showed 'high contamination levels [that] posed significant health risks to beachgoers'. This was on 2 November. Two weeks later, the numbers had come down, but were still high. In December, contamination shot up again. Analysts compiling the report for ASC warned that sewage pollution was now 'posing severe health risks to swimmers and require[s] immediate remedial action.' A test after the beach was closed showed record-high contamination levels. Analysts issued another warning: 'This beach exhibited alarmingly high levels of contamination in the third trial… These figures exceed the Blue Flag standards by 40 and 92 times, respectively. Such extreme contamination levels suggest a direct influx of untreated sewage, likely exacerbated by an ageing infrastructure and stormwater runoff. 'The health risks here are severe, rendering the beach unsafe for recreational use. Community members who use this beach for spiritual purposes, as observed during one of the visits when samples were collected, are at significant risk of exposure to waterborne pathogens,' the report concluded. Odendaal said the DA would do its own sampling. 'The problems are not limited to Fishwater Flats. Sewage spills, failing stormwater drains and dysfunctional wastewater facilities are widespread across the city. The municipality bears primary responsibility for this persistent pollution, and the people of Nelson Mandela Bay have a right to expect transparent reporting and urgent action,' he said. DM
