OUTA exposes R39m sewer failure in Ekurhuleni as residents live with raw sewage

Public funds spent, no delivery, and years after intervention, communities are still living with the consequences.

• OUTA has uncovered a failed R39 million sewer project in Pomona, Kempton Park, where no functional pipeline has been delivered despite years of intervention and funding

• Residents continue to face ongoing sewage spills, with homes affected and a protected wetland being polluted

• The City of Ekurhuleni retained a contractor despite clear recommendations to terminate due to non-performance, raising serious oversight concerns

• OUTA is calling for full disclosure of payments, accountability for procurement decisions, and a credible plan to complete the project and rehabilitate the environment

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has uncovered a failed R39 million sewer infrastructure project in Pomona, Kempton Park, where public funds have been spent, no functional pipeline has been delivered, and residents continue to live with raw sewage flooding their properties years after government intervention.

The project was intended to resolve long-standing sewer failures affecting Bonaero Park, Pomona, Serengeti and surrounding areas, yet years after national intervention was triggered and funding was made available, the infrastructure remains incomplete, while the risks to public health and the environment continue to escalate.

This is not a new problem. As far back as February 2021, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation intervened after repeated sewage spills affected homes and public spaces in the area, instructing the City of Ekurhuleni to act urgently, to work with the Department of Water and Sanitation, and to develop a clear, budgeted plan to resolve the crisis, with the use of Urban Settlements Development Grant funding specifically identified as a mechanism to address the issue.

That intervention did not translate into delivery.

Years later, residents are still dealing with the same failures, and in many cases the situation has worsened. Raw sewage continues to flood properties, particularly in low-lying areas such as Begonia Street, with some residents reporting spills that persist for days at a time, and wastewater flowing through streets and into the nearby wetland. The impact is immediate and personal, affecting homes, increasing health risks and making daily life increasingly difficult.

At the centre of this failure is a sewer pipeline project that has not been completed.

OUTA’s investigation shows that the project was initially budgeted at R25 million but was revised within weeks to more than R39 million, and that the city appointed Risana Business Enterprise, a contractor with a grading that typically limits projects to a lower threshold, to carry out work of significantly greater scale and complexity.

From early on, there were warning signs. The project involves a 4.6 km sewer line crossing wetlands, watercourses and existing infrastructure, requiring careful planning, experienced engineering oversight and a contractor capable of managing difficult terrain, including waterlogged, clay-heavy soil conditions, yet these requirements were not met.

By July 2023, consulting engineers formally recommended that the contractor be terminated due to non-performance, noting that the contractor had failed to attend meetings, did not provide a credible work programme, and made little meaningful progress on site, yet the city did not act on this recommendation and allowed the contractor to continue.

A contractor progress report from July 2023 reflects the scale of the challenge and the lack of progress, recording ongoing delays linked to site conditions, engineering approvals and existing infrastructure conflicts, with trenches collapsing due to underground water and construction repeatedly disrupted, yet no effective corrective action was taken to bring the project back on track.

Nearly two years later, the sewer line remains incomplete.

There are also serious concerns about how public funds have been managed, as OUTA has reason to believe that more than R6 million may have been paid to the contractor, yet the city has refused to disclose full payment records, making it difficult to assess value for money or accountability.

The procurement process raises further questions. The tender required a CIDB grading of 7CE, although 6CE PE contractors were permitted to bid under certain conditions, and Risana Business Enterprise, with a 6CE grading, was awarded work that exceeded the typical value threshold associated with that grading. No compulsory briefing session was held, removing a key safeguard for a project of this scale, while the award process took approximately eight months despite the urgency, and transparency around successful bidders has been limited.

These issues point to deeper weaknesses in oversight, planning and procurement controls.

The environmental consequences are equally concerning. The sewer route cuts through the Blaaupan and Bonaero Park wetland, a sensitive ecosystem already under pressure from years of sewage pollution, and the incomplete infrastructure, together with ongoing spills, has compounded the damage, with no meaningful mitigation or rehabilitation in place.

At the same time, residents are left to deal with the consequences of these failures, as sewage accumulates in gardens, roads are contaminated, and the smell becomes part of daily life, while residents report being told to wait despite repeated complaints, with no clear timeline for resolution.

“This is not a delayed project, it is a failed one,” says Rudie Heyneke, Senior Project Manager at OUTA.

“Millions have been spent, the work has not been delivered, and residents are left dealing with sewage in their homes and streets. That is a complete breakdown of accountability.”

“What we are seeing here is a failure of planning, a failure of oversight, and a failure to act when problems were clearly identified,” Heyneke adds.

“It is not abstract, it is people living with sewage in their homes while the city remains silent.”

OUTA is calling on the City of Ekurhuleni to release full payment records for the Pomona sewer project, explain why a non-performing contractor was retained despite clear recommendations to terminate, and provide a credible and time-bound plan to complete the sewer line and rehabilitate the affected wetland.

The city must also publish full details of the project, including budgets, timelines and progress reports, and account for the procurement decisions that led to this outcome.

OUTA will escalate the matter to the Auditor General for scrutiny in the next audit cycle.

This case does not appear to be an isolated failure, as OUTA has identified a pattern in the city’s procurement practices, including repeated awards to the same contractor, which raises concerns about consistency, oversight and decision-making processes, while broader concerns emerging within the Department of Water and Sanitation will form part of OUTA’s ongoing investigation.

OUTA will continue to expand its investigation to determine the full extent of these issues.

When public funds are spent and infrastructure is not delivered, the consequences are immediate and visible, felt in people’s homes, in damaged environments, and in the erosion of trust in public institutions.

This is why accountability matters.

Supporting Documents:

Feb 2021: Bonaero Park & Actonville residents petition is here.

28 May 2021: Department of Water and Sanitation revised directive is here.

A voicenote from Senior Project Manager, Rudie Heyneke is here in English and here in Afrikaans.