GQEBERHA, Eastern Cape — South Africa’s human rights watchdog has escalated its response to the Eastern Cape’s deepening sewage pollution emergency, signalling that municipalities responsible for contaminating rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters could face criminal prosecution. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) published a hard-hitting investigation into wastewater infrastructure collapse across Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay, and Kouga, declaring the ongoing pollution a violation of residents’ constitutional rights to health, dignity, and a safe environment.
Rather than accepting further promises or infrastructure announcements, the Commission has demanded concrete, time-bound corrective action and has formally requested that the Department of Water and Sanitation, together with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, explore enforcement directives and criminal charges where the evidence warrants.
Alarming Contamination Readings at West Bank
The investigation identified Buffalo City Municipality as the single worst contributor to the crisis. At the West Bank wastewater treatment works in KuGompo City, testing revealed an E. coli concentration of 616,000 per 100 ml alongside near-complete oxygen depletion in the receiving water body. The SAHRC has ordered Buffalo City to deliver an emergency intervention plan for the West Bank facility within 14 days.
Responding to the deadline, a Buffalo City Municipality spokesperson confirmed that an internal team had been established to draft the required response and intervention plan within the Commission’s timeframe. The spokesperson insisted that West Bank had not historically been a problematic site and that multiple corrective interventions had previously been implemented there, but acknowledged that recent vandalism had compromised operations.
Kouga Blames Vandalism and Industrial Dumping
The Commission’s findings also highlighted persistent non-compliance at Kouga Municipality’s Jeffreys Bay and KwaNomzamo wastewater treatment works, where effluent quality remained below regulatory standards. Kouga has been given 60 days to produce measurable improvements backed by testing data, budgetary commitments, and implementation timelines.
A Kouga Municipality spokesperson pointed to vandalism and unlawful industrial discharge as the primary causes of the plant’s underperformance. According to the spokesperson, all mechanical components at the facility were operational, but biological performance had lagged behind projections. The municipality said it was actively cultivating bacteria and enzyme colonies to restore the plant to efficient processing levels. The spokesperson further disclosed that ordinary domestic sewage constituted only 20 to 40 percent of the inflow, with the remaining volume consisting of industrial wastewater entering the system.
Nelson Mandela Bay Acknowledges Findings but Cites Localised Impact
In Nelson Mandela Bay, elevated bacterial contamination was detected at New Brighton and Hobie beaches. The metro, alongside Kouga, has 60 days to demonstrate tangible progress.
A Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality spokesperson stated that the Commission’s conclusions aligned with the metro’s internal water quality monitoring. However, the spokesperson stressed that the elevated readings were neither consistent nor widespread across the metro’s coastline and river systems. The majority of monitored bathing sites, including those holding Blue Flag status, generally met acceptable water quality thresholds, the spokesperson said, adding that the heightened bacteria counts were limited to particular areas and shifted over time. The municipality committed to sustained investment in wastewater infrastructure, enhanced scientific monitoring programmes, and multi-stakeholder cooperation to safeguard rivers, beaches, and the coastal ecosystem.
Section 139 Intervention on the Table
Beyond the individual municipal deadlines, the SAHRC has taken the extraordinary step of calling on the Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department (COGTA) to evaluate whether the pattern of persistent failure in these municipalities meets the threshold for intervention under Section 139 of the Constitution. That provision permits higher spheres of government to assume responsibility for municipal functions when a local authority is unable to meet its obligations.
The Commission’s position is unequivocal: plans and announcements are no longer sufficient while raw and poorly treated sewage continues to flow into waterways used by communities. The report frames the crisis not merely as an infrastructure or governance failure, but as a direct and ongoing assault on the fundamental rights of Eastern Cape residents.
