Hekpoort – Residents of Hekpoort, mainly business owners in tourism and agriculture, are pressing for the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements to discontinue and demolish the Dr. Sefularo Reconstruction Development Plan (RDP) housing project.
Environmental concerns have been cited as reasons to stop the project by those opposed to the RDP housing project in Hekpoort – a small Gauteng town.
There was a heated debate between local business people, who sought a court order to demolish RDP houses, and officials from the Mogale City Local Municipality, which favours the continuation of the project.
Having listened to arguments from both sides, Gauteng Department of Environment MEC Shyla Peters called for a solution that would allow the housing project to move forward while also ensuring environmental protection.
She insisted that the Gauteng Department of Environment remains committed to environmental conservation.
Residents previously raised concerns about sewage waste being discharged directly into the Magalies River, which local people and livestock rely on for drinking water.
The water from the Magalies River is also used to irrigate crops.
However, these concerns were dealt with at last week’s briefing on the Dr. Sefularo RDP housing project.
The project’s environmental control officer, Lutendo Ndou, explained that a package system was being used for water treatment.
“This is a water treatment package, not merely a treatment works system,” Ndou said, stressing that the package system retains the sewage.
Ndou assured participants at the project briefing meeting that only harmless treated water was being released into the river at a designated discharge point.
MEC Peters, Gauteng Department of Environment compliance senior managers, and officers, as well as representatives of the concerned residents were shown how the package system works.
Nevertheless, the residents stressed the importance of regular inspections by the site engineer, Mogale City Local Municipality, and other relevant authorities, to ensure the treated water meets acceptable standards.
Funded by the GDS and being implemented by the Mogale City Municipality, the project target is to construct 270 houses to benefit homeless residents, whom a representative of Mogale City said: “Worked at local farms but were later evicted”.
The first phase includes building 90 houses, of which about 30 are at roof level, with one completed.
Meanwhile, the Hekpoort business people, led by a long-time farmer, plan to file a high court order to stop the construction of the RDP houses.
The project briefing meeting followed the Gauteng Provincial Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee for Agriculture, Environment and Land Affairs, Jaco Mulder’s invitation to MEC Peters for an oversight visit to the project.
At the project briefing meeting, MEC Peters was accompanied by the Gauteng Department of Environment senior environmental managers and environmental compliance inspectors.
The Gauteng Department of Environment environmental management inspectors checked the project for compliance with the environmental impact assessment (EIA).
The inspectors confirmed that the Dr. Sefularo RDP housing construction project’s EIA “is valid and the contracted builder is adhering to specified requirements.”
The Hekpoort businesspeople have been leading the protest against the Dr. Sefularo RDP housing project for some time.
On 11 December 2023, a complaint was filed with the Gauteng Department of Environment regarding a new sewer-treatment facility, which allegedly risks contaminating the adjacent Magalies River.
However, at the time of inspection, no violations were found by the Gauteng Department of Environment officials.
About the writer: Emmanuel Koro is a Johannesburg-based international award-winning environmental journalist who writes independently on environmental and developmental issues in Africa.
