Action SA shares some history about Hammanskraal water problems

JOHANNESBURG - There have been 17 confirmed cholera deaths in Hammanskraal.

Warnings about water quality in the area have been ignored or half-heartedly followed up, and now tragedy.

READ: Cholera Crisis | Gift of the Givers delivers bottles of water in Hammanskraal

In 2021, Action SA sparked a commission of inquiry into water safety in the area.

Hannes Coetzee is an ASA member and in March he was appointed a member of the Tshwane mayoral committee for economic development.

He says the problems truly started in 2016.

Coetzee said, "from about 2016, the problems really started occurring and we, on the 21 January 2020, we wrote a letter to the City of Tshwane informing them about 16 points about the contractor that they had appointed, that was the Blackhead company. We have given them all the red light warnings to say: this cannot continue because there was not enough money to start a project, they had to give him R1-million to start the project off, to do the site establishment."

"And there were many other things that were raised. Then in 2020 after we handed the letter to them: the contract was cancelled but then they went to court to challenge the case."