A political battle is unfolding over the state of eThekwini Municipality’s failing sewage infrastructure, with two opposition parties, ActionSA and the Democratic Alliance (DA), now at odds in a public spat. Both parties have jointly pursued legal action against the municipality, citing human rights violations and significant risks to the health and safety of residents caused by the ongoing collapse of the city’s sewage systems. However, what started as a united effort to address a dire public health crisis has devolved into a dispute over court proceedings, further complicating the issue.
The row began when the DA requested a postponement of the upcoming court hearing scheduled for October 2024. The party claimed that the date conflicted with another legal matter involving its lawyers, raising concerns about a potential delay in the case’s progression. This request was met with immediate backlash from ActionSA, which accused the DA of deliberately stalling the legal proceedings.
Zwakele Mncwango, ActionSA’s provincial chair, was quick to condemn the DA’s request for a delay. He argued that the postponement demonstrated a “blatant lack of regard” for the residents of eThekwini, who continue to suffer from the city’s deteriorating sewage infrastructure. The ongoing spillage of raw sewage into rivers, residential areas, and oceans has led to frequent beach closures and raised serious environmental and health concerns. Mncwango emphasized that any delay in court action would only prolong the suffering of residents, who already face unacceptable risks from the city’s failing services.
Saul Basckin, a former ActionSA ward candidate and Umhlanga resident, echoed these concerns, suggesting that the delay could have far-reaching consequences. Basckin, a passionate surfer familiar with the impact of sewage spills on local beaches, pointed out that the case could take several months to be heard, followed by an appeal process that could extend the timeline for resolution by another year. He speculated that the DA’s request for a postponement might be politically motivated, with the party looking to maintain its positioning for the 2024 local elections at the expense of making meaningful progress on the issue.
In response to these accusations, the DA has hit back strongly, insisting that it has been the driving force behind the case all along. Dean Macpherson, DA chairperson for KwaZulu-Natal, rejected the suggestion that the party was stalling or sabotaging the case. He claimed that the DA had adhered to all legal procedures and that ActionSA’s attempt to push the case forward recklessly was counterproductive. Macpherson pointed out that ActionSA had failed to properly prepare its case, resulting in delays and complications when it could not provide sufficient information to move the case forward.
Macpherson further accused ActionSA of using the case as a platform for “cheap political points” rather than focusing on the legal process. He highlighted a particularly contentious moment when eThekwini Municipality suddenly filed a 2,500-page affidavit less than a month before the scheduled court date. This, Macpherson argued, was a deliberate move to complicate the legal proceedings and potentially sabotage the DA’s case, which had been prepared for the original hearing dates in October.
Macpherson also emphasized that the DA’s legal team was engaged in another critical case at the Constitutional Court, which had clashed with the eThekwini hearing. He insisted that the delay was necessary to allow time to properly address the massive volume of new evidence submitted by the municipality, which he claimed would have otherwise undermined the case.
The dispute between the two parties highlights the growing tension within opposition politics in eThekwini. While both parties are united in their criticism of the municipality’s failure to address its sewage infrastructure crisis, their differences over the handling of the legal case are beginning to overshadow the issue at hand. With both parties now publicly accusing each other of political maneuvering, the residents of eThekwini continue to bear the brunt of the collapse in basic services.
As the legal battle rages on, the issue of sewage management in eThekwini remains unresolved, with the potential for further delays in the courtroom. The controversy between ActionSA and the DA underscores the challenges facing the opposition in South Africa, as political rivalry and the pursuit of electoral advantage threaten to derail efforts to address critical issues affecting ordinary citizens. With local elections on the horizon, it remains to be seen whether the two parties can put aside their differences and deliver the decisive action that eThekwini residents so desperately need.
