By Thabang Thembani, Health-e News
Sewage is still spilling into the yards of residents in Nyakallong in the Free State despite a High Court ruling against the municipality, intervention by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the municipality being placed under administration.
Residents say sewage spills and polluted water continue to affect their homes near the Voëlpan Dam, almost two years after the SAHRC found that Matjhabeng Local Municipality had violated their rights and put their health at risk through sewage pollution.
In its 2024 SAHRC report, the commission recommended that affected residents living close to the Voëlpan Dam be relocated. It also recommended that sewage infrastructure be repaired.
Nyakallong, a township located near Allanridge in the Matjhabeng Local Municipality of the Free State, has a population of almost 18-thousand people according to recent municipal water service data.
This is not the first water-related health threat facing the community.
In August last year, Health-e News reported that polluted water overflowing from the Voëlpan mine tailings dam was flooding nearby homes.
Around 77 families living close to the dam were expected to be relocated by the Matjhabeng municipality, but little progress had been made. Residents say they are still waiting for a permanent solution.
Sewage water in residents’ yards
Thabo Maseng, who has lived in Nyakallong his entire life, says polluted water has filled his backyard and left him unable to use the space as he did before.
“My back-yard is full of toxic water full of sewage and I can not plant vegetables like spinach as before because there is no planting and walking space due to water that has filled it,” he says.
Maseng is also worried about the possible impact of the conditions on his family’s health.
“My 22 year old daughter and I are using asthma inhalers, we both grew up without it but now we have it,” he says.
Mmeme Mothae, who has a young daughter, says she has been living with sewage in her yard since 2022.
“Especially when it is raining heavy, I know we are going to see serious sewerage spillages or after 3 months we experience the spillages in the house and yard,” she says.
Mothae says she is particularly concerned about her daughter.
“I am very worried about her living in environmental conditions as we are living in, I hope she doesn’t get sick from all this problem of sewerage,” she says.
Mothae says she wants the underlying problem fixed rather than municipal workers repeatedly returning to unblock sewage when it spills.
Residents turn to Public Protector
Frustrated by the continuing sewage problems, Nyakallong resident Sandile Mokoena approached the Public Protector.
Correspondence sent to Mokoena by Public Protector investigator Tebello Masango in March this year was shared with Health-e News. Masango confirms that the SAHRC investigated the service delivery problems and made recommendations.
Masango says the municipality did not adhere to the recommendations. According to the correspondence, the matter was subsequently taken to the Free State High Court and remains pending.
This is not the first time Matjhabeng’s failure to provide basic services has reached the courts. In October 2024, the Free State High Court declared that the municipality had failed in its constitutional duties to provide services sustainably and promote a safe and healthy environment.
The court also found that the municipality was in serious or persistent breach of its obligations to provide basic services and meet its financial commitments.
In June 2025, the Free State provincial government placed Matjhabeng under administration.
This followed concerns by the Committee on Cooperative Governance and Public Administration, Traditional Affairs, Water, Sanitation and Human Settlement who conducted site inspections in the township. In its report, the committee expressed concerns about municipal governance, financial management and service delivery.
More recent warnings about the possible health impact on residents have followed.
In March this year, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation cautioned that untreated wastewater flowing into dams posed a health risk and increased water treatment costs. The committee said the municipality owed Vaal Central Water almost R9 billion.
Wastewater works refurbishment planned
Ward 36 councillor Clement Hanisi says Matjhabeng Local Municipality is aware of the sewage crisis and that plans are underway to address it.
“Already Matjhabeng Municipality and Department of Water and Sanitation are on the move with relocating the sewerage Pumping station to the place where it would function and therefore not pose anymore problems to the community,” Hanisi says.
Vaal Central Water has advertised a tender for the refurbishment of the Nyakallong Wastewater Treatment Works.
According to the Vaal Central Water tender, the planned work includes civil, mechanical and electrical refurbishment and control and instrumentation work.
The tender opened earlier this year on 31 July and closed on 1 September.
According to tender documents, the planned refurbishment is intended to improve the treatment of sewage from the surrounding areas before it is discharged into the Voëlpan Dam.
