A senior government environmental crimes inspector has slammed municipalities in his home province of Mpumalanga for endangering the health of millions of people because of the regular and “blatant” dumping of untreated human sewage into local rivers.

Maanda Alidzulwi, a member of the Green Scorpions environmental management inspectorate, said he was increasingly frustrated by the frequency of sewage pollution crimes by municipalities in several parts of Mpumalanga.

It often seemed that they were oblivious to the fact that several of these rivers flowed into the Vaal River, the main water supply system of Johannesburg and other major urban settlements in Gauteng

“Pardon my language … but it’s like pouring buckets of shit [into our drinking water],” he said, placing the blame on municipalities that had allowed wastewater treatment works to collapse due to lack of maintenance.

“Do we have to pollute the little water we have?” asked Alidzulwi, during a panel discussion at the Daily Maverick’s Earth Edition  of The Gathering in Cape Town on May 26.

Alidzulwi, who is in the process of prosecuting several municipalities for water pollution crimes, said things had reached the point where he was now being called “the shit champion”, a title he took in his stride.

‘What is your priority?’

His criticisms also come at a time when scores of people have died or become seriously ill in the Hammanskraal area and other parts of the country because of cholera and other suspected waterborne diseases.

Read  more on Daily Maverick: ‘She was crying out – Help me!’ – Hammanskraal residents recall years of water misery before cholera outbreak

“We are now investigating our own colleagues in government … If human life is not your priority, what is your priority?”

Alidzulwi also raised separate concerns around the increasing number of loopholes available to wildlife smugglers, some of whom simply walked around border crossing posts while carrying pangolins. He also cited the recent example of a suspect arrested while transporting rhino horn in his car.

“The horns were sitting in the boot and weren’t even covered, because these guys knew nothing would be done.”

Alidzulwi was joined on the panel by:

• Frances Craigie, chief director of enforcement at the Department of Environment, Forestries and Fisheries;
• Julian Rademeyer, chief director of East and Southern Africa of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime; and
• Tendai Biti, former Zimbabwe finance minister; and
• Rehana Rossouw, climate journalist and author.

In a separate keynote address, climate activist and former Greenpeace head Kumi Naidoo said he believed it was a misnomer to place the climate crisis into an environmental box.

“The planet will be just fine when we are gone  … This is about nothing less than saving our children’s and their chlldren’s future,” he said, challenging President Cyril Ramaphosa and all Members of the National Assembly to convene “a serious public conversation in Parliament about the climate crisis and the energy crisis specifically”.

As things stood now, said Naidoo, there was no comprehensive plan or political commitment to address the climate crisis.

‘Ecosystems of crime’

Wildlife crime and corruption author and investigator Julian Rademeyer noted that “ecosystems of crime” had become increasingly entrenched in Mpumalanga – to the extent that youngsters now looked up to gangsters as role models.

This criminal ecosystem had extended its reach deep into the neighbouring Kruger National Park, where a large number of conservation staff were now involved in rhino horn poaching.

While it often seemed that the sky was collapsing from an environmental perspective, Rademeyer said it was equally important to recognise that there were still several government officials and civil servants who were committed to resolving these problems.

Responding to questions on challenges facing the national Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, senior Green Scorpions compliance and enforcement official Frances Craigie said several departments were competing for scarce resources.

As a result, the department was often in a fight for survival and was trying to develop innovative ideas to fund and support its work.

‘Self-destruct button’

Returning to the theme of corruption and infrastructure collapse, former Zimbabwe finance minister Tendai Biti expressed his bemusement that many South Africans seemed to think that the government would resolve the current power crisis any time soon.

“Zimbabweans realised long ago that they have to fend for themselves, often buying their own generators. Back at home, there are many places where we have been in a complete blackout for years.

He was, therefore, shocked that South Africa seemed desperate to press the “self-destruct button” and break down an electrical power system that would be envied by many citizens in Zimbabwe. DM