Download PDFToloane River which runs from Pretoria north (in Gauteng) to areas such as Hebron in the North West Province is very popular in the communities through which it runs. Toloane provides the communities with more than just water as many people visit this river for spiritual cleansing.
Toloane is also used by members of different communities such as Klipgat, Madidi, Ga-phasha, Jericho and many others for household needs such as feeding livestock and laundry. South Africa has been declared a water-scarce country and keeping our rivers clean can never be over emphasised.
It came as a shock for many when in June 2021 this river showed signs of contamination from human faeces and other waste materials.
The waste water pipe from Ga Rankuwa which passes through Hebron to Mabopane and other area adjacent burst and the spillage now runs straight into the Toloane river.
The sad part is that six months later this situation is the same, without even a wink from the local municipality of Madibeng or Tshwane. Hebron is in Madibeng municipality while the burst pipe which caused the spillage and connects Ga Rankuwa to Mabopane is under Tshwane. The stench from the river can be smelt over 3km away and is affecting the daily lives of communities.
As if the burst pipe is not enough, some community members use the river as a dumping area. All these factors are causing serious health hazards to the communities where Toloane runs through. Community members whom we spoke to are hopeful that the newly elected councillor will address the issue as they can’t take it anymore.
This article was submitted on 24 November 2021. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
