University student takes Sol Plaatje to court to fix service delivery crisis

A 30-YEAR-OLD university student from Kimberley and EFF member, Tebogo Kaulela, has filed an urgent court application against the Sol Plaatje Municipality to enforce a deadline of the beginning of 2026 for the city’s service delivery crisis to be addressed.

Kaulela, who intends to represent himself, indicated in court papers that while recruiting EFF members in the city, he observed various human rights violations where residents were subjected to undignified living conditions.

“Residents, children and the elderly are exposed to waterborne illnesses, including gastrointestinal diseases and cholera,” he said.

He also pointed out that the neglect of water and sanitation infrastructure has compromised water quality and resulted in sewage spillages and blocked and leaking drains.

“The provision of dirty, contaminated or unsafe water to residents of the Sol Plaatje Municipality constitutes a direct and ongoing violation of the Constitution. The municipality should prioritise budget allocations and infrastructure repairs to ensure safe water and sanitation and prevent the contamination of water sources. An assessment of wastewater treatment plants must be conducted to avoid ecological degradation from sewage spills.”

He pointed to court orders that were handed down after the Northern Cape Ranchers and the Kamfersdam Conservation Group sought legal action to manage unacceptably high E coli levels and limit the discharge of effluent into Kamfers Dam due to the malfunctioning Homevale wastewater treatment plant.

Kaulela cited the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) as a respondent to mediate and enforce compliance.

A future court date will be set for arguments in the Northern Cape High Court, as the municipality opposed the application on November 19.

The SAHRC in October blasted Sol Plaatje Municipality for the absence of service delivery and for allowing residents to “live like animals” in sewage, without securing reliable access to safe drinking water.

Millions spent on stalled municipal projects

Meanwhile, the FF+ has queried the status of several municipal projects – including the Homevale Fire Station, the Sunset Manor pump station, Gogga pump station, the Mandela Precinct, the Homevale wastewater treatment plant and sewage leaking into Kamfers Dam, the Transnet pump station project to assist with repairs at Kamfers Dam, and the Carters Glen pump station – during a recent Municipal Public Accounts Committee meeting.

FF+ councillor Johan Smit said that millions of rand had been invested in these incomplete projects, while critical infrastructure remained out of operation.

Theft and vandalism of infrastructure

A concerned resident has also highlighted the theft of security cameras and back-up batteries at various substations in the city, where broken fences and exposed meter boxes have left municipal infrastructure vulnerable to theft.

He added that a section of the ClearVu fencing panel behind the Northern Cape Mental Health Hospital has been stolen.

Electricity outages at the hospital between October 2023 and August 2024, due to cable theft and vandalism of the substation, led to conditions where psychiatric patients were "freezing to death".

Sol Plaatje Municipality had not responded to media enquiries by the time of publication.