After ActionSA sued four ministers, two KwaZulu-Natal MECs, the City of eThekwini and its mayor in court in November, the provincial departments of economic development, tourism, and environmental affairs have submitted a replying affidavit.
Zwakele Mncwango, an ActionSA leader in KwaZulu-Natal, spoke to the court about the sewage leak that had contaminated the province’s waterways and beaches. On February 27, the case will be heard at the high court in Durban.
In response to ActionSA’s lawsuit, the department’s interim top director Bonginkosi Dlamini submitted an affidavit on Monday. This came when it was revealed that the department was the sixth respondent in the case.
Dlamini claims in documents submitted on Monday that he would address the relief requested against the department, claiming that any declaration requested against the agency is unjustified.
The department has made reasonable steps to avoid the contamination of rivers and beaches, according to Dlamini, who claims that ActionSA based its claims on purported violations of rights protected by section 24 of the constitution.
Mncwango said in court filings he submitted in 2022 that the eThekwini region’s deteriorating infrastructure had created problems for many residents and led to the sewage system overflowing into rivers and beaches, creating health risks.
According to Mncwango’s affidavit, “this has had a further devastating effect on the already failing system, which has resulted to the closure of various beaches for the last several months.”
The lifestyles of the locals, the viability of small companies, the tourist sector, the environment in general, and the economic slump for the region’s poorest citizens were all impacted by this.
Dlamini said ActionSA had not used scientific evidence from specialists to back up claims that his department had broken the law.
Other parties involved in the dispute include Ministers of Tourism Lindiwe Sisulu, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Senzo Mchunu, and Barbara Creecy (Cogta).
Sihle Zikalala, the MEC for Cogta in KwaZulu-Natal, and Mxolisi Kaunda, the mayor of eThekwini, have joined the ministers in this subject.
Other respondents who were included in the case have not shown a desire to fight the lawsuit.
»ActionSA, ministers face beach pollution lawsuit«