The Newcastle Municipality has urged residents to remain calm as recent tests have concluded that the drinking water is safe for consumption and daily water tests are being conducted for assurance. This follows an investigation into the safety of the Amcor Dam after local conservationists noticed a magical foam and stench emanating from the water.
After the Newcastle Express published an article on 21 September titled “Recovery Plan for Amcor Dam”, local businessman, Hannes Hartman, and conservationist, Sanjeev Singh, approached the acting municipal manager, Vish Govender, on the poor state of the dam and the pollution. Govender appointed a team of engineers to speedily get to the source of the pollution.
On 2 October, spokesperson for Newcastle Municipality, Mlungisi Khumalo, released a statement and said that the source of contamination was found and he alleged that it led to a local laundry owned by a member of a prominent political party. Khumalo said that they are “shocked and dismayed” at the findings.
This comes after the owner of a laundry came under fire, on the weekend, over allegations that the laundry they are operating was allegedly the source of contamination of the Amcor Dam and Ncandu River. Concerned conservationists are also claiming that the laundry is creating a “magical foam” that is polluting the dam and river.
“Last month the municipality was made aware through the Newcastle Express of the ‘magical foam’ flowing through Amcor Dam’s waterfall. A video entitled ‘Is Newcastle’s water safe’ was also circulated on social media platforms. The Newcastle Municipality’s environmental unit swiftly instituted an investigation to the cause and origin of this environmental hazard,” alleged Khumalo.
Khumalo said that the preliminary investigation conducted by the municipality established that the ‘magical foam’ and contamination of the water sources was allegedly orchestrated. “It has also been established that chemical pollutants were deliberately channelled to the Amcor Dam waterfall with the intention to stir public fury. The municipal officials have also found that during the orchestration of this deliberate pollution, the perpetrators filmed the entire ordeal before distributing footage on social media,” alleged Khumalo.
In the municipality statement, Khumalo further alleged that the culprits posed as potential whistle-blowers to members of the media before distributing images and video footage material.
“It is believed that behind this clandestine operation was the aim to campaign and use the video as a tool for the upcoming Local Government Elections by ActionSA in Newcastle. The stillborn campaign, which failed to gain the intended public traction, was presented in a widely circulated video on the group’s social media page. The video was, however, immediately removed when the municipality made its intentions to conduct investigations as this is a serious criminal offence,” alleged Khumalo.
“The municipality has since made law enforcement authorities and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Environmental Affairs aware of the sabotage and calls for a thorough investigation on all those involved, including an industrial laundry, alleged to have pumped out its chemicals to the water sources. The municipality calls upon the owner of the laundry and the alleged mastermind behind the environmental hazard to cooperate and comply with investigations. The municipality will also write to the IEC to complain of the party’s unlawful electioneering strategy, which according to the municipality, would have potentially harmed thousands of Newcastle residents had it not been averted,” alleged Khumalo.
Khumalo alleged that they were also saddened to learn that employees of the laundry were allegedly threatened to lose their jobs if they testified of their involvement in the scandal.
Meanwhile, Heinz de Boer, MPL, Democratic Alliance (DA) KZN spokesperson on EDTEA, issued a statement on 4 October stating that the party will carefully monitor criminal charges relating to an environmental pollution investigation in Newcastle, after “what appears to be a pre-election political stunt gone wrong”.
“The Amcor Dam and associated Ncandu River were recently contaminated after a Newcastle laundry owner allegedly allowed effluent to escape his premises and enter the watercourse. The owner, who is now subject to investigation by KZN’s Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Committee, is believed to have diverted effluent into the river to cause public alarm and gain political traction ahead of the local government elections. Footage in possession of the DA clearly points to the laundry and screen-printer being responsible for the pollution. Unless this can be proven otherwise, the DA will remain reliant on this footage.”
He said whether it was a political stunt or not – this most recent environmental contamination is utterly unacceptable and comes in the wake of our province’s rivers and sea being placed under continual assault from sewage and chemical spills. “South Africa has, for far too long, allowed environmental degradation to go unchecked, severely damaging sensitive ecosystems and jeopardising economic and tourism development. The DA still maintains that only extraordinarily harsh fines and jail time will halt the trend of wanton pollution – a scourge which not only damages the environment but infringes on the human rights of all citizens. That politics is allegedly behind the spill aggravates the situation further and points to the depths some parties will go to in their quest for power. It is irresponsible to make sanctimonious speeches while having fingers simultaneously pointed at you for doing the same wrong you accuse others of. As with all major environmental incidents, the DA will ensure the criminal and EDTEA investigation is exhaustive and leads to successful prosecutions,” read the statement.
The owner of the laundry was contacted for comment on the allegations made by the municipality, but they declined to comment, saying that they will release a statement later in the week.
