Rehabilitation of the Water in the Cradle
Dear Citizen,
Please sign this petition to put pressure on the government to rehabilitate our water in the Cradle.
Time to take action!
Water is the life of a community, so we can't stand by and let the situation worsen.
Below are links to pictures and detailed reports on the water situation. Take action with us and we can rehabilitate our water. See the difference we can all make.
We need a minimum of 50,000 signatures, so please forward far and wide. You will be updated with our progress, (if you give us permission below,) on how many signatures we have received. Once the project is initiated, we will keep you updated on our progress.
https://cradle-river-pollution.blogspot.com/
The Cradle (Muldersdrift) is currently negatively impacted by the high level of sewage pollution in the water courses flowing through the World Heritage Site and as a consequence risking the health of all the residents and visitors/tourists to the area. The CSIR does regular water quality tests in the area and has classified the rivers in the cradle area as E/F, the worst classification possible. According to their reports the watercourses are essentially dead due to the high level of pollution. The environment in the vicinity of the watercourses has been damaged and there is serious cause for concern on the long-term impact this will have on the ground water in the area. There are already indications that the quality of the groundwater is deteriorating.
Accordingly, we, the undersigned, urgently call upon:
1. Firstly, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment:
1.1 Whose mandate it is to protect and conserve the Outstanding Universal Value of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (COHWHS), the loss of which will constitute an impoverishment of the heritage of all the peoples of the world and, in particular of the people of South Africa;
1.2 Who, as Minister responsible for environmental affairs, has the constitutional duty and legal obligation to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights in the Bill of Rights, including the fundamental environmental right enshrined in section 24(b) of the Constitution, providing that everyone has the right to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations, through reasonable legislative and other measures that prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
1.3 Who is also responsible for national environmental management in terms of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998, which was specifically enacted to give effect to the fundamental rights to the environment, as provided for in section 24 of the Constitution;
1.4 Who is furthermore responsible for enforcing and implementing the World Heritage Convention Act, 49 of 1999, as well as the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by the General Conference of United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on the 16th of November, 1972 and ratified by the Republic of South Africa on the 10th of July 1997;
1.5 And, who is responsible for the management of protected areas, including world heritage sites, in terms of section 9(b) of the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act, 57 of 2003;
2. Secondly, the Minister of Water and Sanitation:
2.1 Through whom the National Government, as the public trustee of the nation’s water resources, must ensure that water is protected, used, developed, conserved, managed and controlled in a sustainable and equitable manner, for the benefit of all persons and in accordance with its constitutional mandate;
2.2 Who has a political responsibility for the Department of Water and Sanitation to enforce regulatory measures that ensure the provision of safe water and the effective management of wastewater, and in terms of the National Water Act, 36 of 1998, ensure inter alia the protection of aquatic and associated ecosystems and their biological biodiversity, preventing pollution and degradation of water resources;
2.3 To:
2.3.1. Enforce current directives and compliance notices against MCLM in terms of Section 19 (3) (a), (b) and (c) of the National Water Act and Sections 28 and 34 of the National Environmental Management Act;
2.3.2. To take the measures necessary to, in terms of Section 28 (8)(a);(b);(c);(d) and subsections (9) to (12) of Section 28 of the National Environmental Act and Section 19 (4)(5) (a);(b); (c); (d) and subsections (6) to (8) of Section 19 of the National Water Act to:
2.3.2.1. contain or prevent the movement of the pollutants;
2.3.2.2. eliminate any source of the pollution;
2.3.2.3. remedy the effects of the pollution; and
2.3.2.4. remedy the effects of any disturbance to the bed and banks of the watercourses within the COHWHS affected by Mogale City Local Municipality’s (MCLM) dysfunctional waste water treatment works, sewage lines and pump stations;
2.3.2.5. to recover all costs incurred as a result of acting under subsection 4 of Section 19 of the National Water Act from MCLM or any person who is or was responsible for, or who directly or indirectly contributed to the pollution or the potential pollution; the owner of the land at the time when the pollution or potential pollution occurred; the person in control of the land or any person who has a right to use the land at the time when the activity or the process is or was performed or undertaken or the situation came about; or any person who negligently failed to prevent the activity or the process being performed or undertaken, or the situation from coming about.
Trevor Brough Contact the author of the petition