Hammanskraal cholera outbreak: class action suit

A CLASS action law suit looms against the government for negligence stemming from the provision of contaminated water to Hammanskraal residents, resulting in the deaths of 23 people.

Advocate Moafrika Wa Maila said yesterday he would institute a class action against the government on behalf of those who died, those admitted to hospital and other affected residents.

Since May 15 many people in the township were admitted to Jubilee District Hospital after they fell ill with diarrhoeal disease or gastrointestinal infections said to be caused by the consumption of contaminated water. The government has declared that there was a cholera outbreak in the area.

Maila said one of the bases for the lawsuit would be previous reports with findings on the Hammanskraal water situation, including the 2021 report compiled by the South African Human Rights Commission after its public inquiry into the quality of water.

Maila said he would host a media briefing with the bereaved families next week to outline their legal strategy.

This week the City of Tshwane council approved a R450 million allocation to capacitate the Rooiwal wastewater treatment plant, which has been identified as the source of the problem for Hammanskraal residents.

It was announced during a joint media briefing held this week with Minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu and Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink that the estimated cost of a full rehabilitation and upgrade of Rooiwal would be about R4 billion.

Meanwhile, WaterCAN – an initiative of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) – said on Thursday that it had commissioned an independent laboratory service, Aquatico Laboratories, to test water from four taps in Hammanskraal.

The laboratory found that water from three of four taps “was not safe to drink”, WaterCAN said.

However, it said there was no trace of cholera after independent analysis of the bacteriological water quality.

WaterCAN’s executive manager, Dr Ferrial Adam, said: “The water may be free of E coli and free of cholera, but there is still a very high number of other bacteria in the water which is a major cause for concern as it indicates either inadequate treatment before it goes into the pipes, or water is secondarily polluted after it leaves the treatment facility.

“Either way, it remains unsafe for consumption.”