The Gqeberha City Hall, the headquarters and administrative hub of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. (Photo: Rute Martins / Wikipedia) The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality is under criminal investigation over alleged sewage pollution and could face multi-million-rand fines if convicted of violating environmental laws.
It should serve as a cautionary tale that five other municipalities have been convicted and slapped with fines of between R10-million and R650-million over their sewage woes.
If the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is convicted, penalties under the National Environmental Management Act (Nema) and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act (Nemwa) could include fines of up to R10-million and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) said.
Department spokesperson Zolile Nqayi confirmed that there were two active criminal investigations involving the metro.
The confirmation follows a parliamentary reply by Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina to MK party MP Visvin Reddy, in which she revealed the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) had 96 active criminal cases related to sewage pollution involving 53 water services authorities (WSAs) across all nine provinces.
Majodina said the cases followed the failure of municipalities to respond to compliance notices and directives issued by her department.
“The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment has opened a further 32 criminal cases. Cumulatively, the two departments have cases against 63 WSAs for sewage pollution,” she said.
Majodina said the criminal cases were brought against municipalities as institutions, represented by their municipal managers as accounting officers.
“Based on evidence collected by the departments’ environmental management inspectors (EMIs), the NPA then decides on whether to pursue additional charges against officials in their personal capacity,” she said.
Regarding the cases against the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana confirmed that one case had been registered at Kabega Park police station over sewage spills affecting the Kuyga community between 19 April 2024 and 7 November 2025.
A second case was registered at Humewood police station over sewage spills into the harbour in Gqeberha between 3 February and 18 May 2022, Gantana said.
According to Nqayi, the docket relating to the harbour pollution had already been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and a decision was awaited on whether the NPA would institute a prosecution.
The municipality was approached for comment and provided with the relevant details related to criminal cases. No response had been received by the time of publication. This article will be updated once any response is received.
/file/attachments/orphans/Photo2_119228.jpg "Municipal officials clear a sewer line clogged with burnt refuse. Blocked sewer lines (see photo below) often result in overflowing drains and sewage spills, posing risks to public health and the environment. (Photo: Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality)")
Criminal cases follow repeated sewage pollution
The department said both investigations followed repeated pollution incidents despite enforcement notices requiring the municipality to address the underlying problems.
“In both cases, ongoing pollution incidents continued to be recorded despite the DFFE having issued enforcement notices requiring the municipality to address the underlying problems.
“As the complainants were continuously affected by the pollution and no lasting solution had been implemented, they approached the South African Police Service (SAPS) and requested that a criminal investigation be initiated,” Nqayi said in response to questions from Daily Maverick.
The DFFE said the investigations initially related to alleged contraventions of the National Environmental Management Act, 107 of 1998, specifically those concerning serious pollution of the environment and the National Environmental Management: Waste Act, 59 of 2008, which addressed the unlawful management and disposal of waste and its impact on the environment.
“It remains within the discretion of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to include additional charges under other applicable environmental legislation where sufficient evidence exists to support such charges,” Nqayi said, stressing that criminal cases were not opened solely at the DFFE’s discretion.
Investigations may be initiated when complaints or other information suggest an environmental offence may have been committed. Such information may come from members of the public or from Environmental Management Inspectors during the course of their duties.
Nqayi said untreated sewage spills should first be reported to the relevant municipality or responsible authority to enable the source of the discharge to be addressed as quickly as possible.
However, where sewage discharges resulted in environmental pollution or degradation, or there were grounds to believe environmental legislation had been breached, the matter could also constitute a criminal offence.
Members of the public were entitled to report suspected environmental offences directly to the police, Nqayi said.
Once a case had been registered, it was often referred to environmental management inspectors within the relevant provincial environmental department, the Department of Water and Sanitation or the DFFE to continue the criminal investigation in line with the standard operating procedure agreed between the South African Police Service and the DFFE.
“The authority responsible for investigating the environmental offence will depend on the nature of the alleged contravention and the applicable legislation,” Nqayi said.
“In most instances involving sewage pollution, investigations will be undertaken by environmental management inspectors within the relevant provincial environmental department or by the Department of Water and Sanitation, depending on the circumstances.
“The DFFE EMIs have jurisdiction only in specific matters prescribed by law and will therefore not ordinarily investigate every sewage-related complaint,” Nqayi said.
/file/attachments/orphans/Photo3_249392.jpg "Further along the sewer line, the extent of the blockage becomes even more severe. The accumulated refuse appears to have been trapped there for years, highlighting the long-term impact of illegal dumping on the municipality’s sewer infrastructure. (Photo: Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality)")
Municipality cites ageing
infrastructure and vandalism
Nelson Mandela Bay municipal spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya attributed sewer infrastructure failures to a combination of factors which he said included ageing infrastructure, vandalism, theft of critical infrastructure, illegal disposal of foreign objects into the sewer network, load shedding-related operational challenges and funding constraints associated with historical infrastructure backlogs.
Soyaya said that the municipality “under normal operating conditions” aimed to respond to reported sewer blockages within 24 to 48 hours.
He said response times might vary depending on the severity of the incident, accessibility of the site, availability of resources, weather conditions and the extent of repairs required.
“In instances where pollution of the environment has occurred, the municipality implements appropriate corrective measures, which may include clearing sewer blockages, repairing damaged pipelines, replacing defective manholes, repairing or replacing pump equipment, deploying vacuum tanker services where required and undertaking environmental clean-up and disinfection where appropriate,” Soyaya said.
A cautionary tale
Majodina said five sewage pollution cases brought by the Department of Water and Sanitation had already been finalised by the courts, with all resulting in plea and sentence agreements.
Among the penalties, the Emalahleni Local Municipality was fined R650-million, of which R150-million was suspended. The Govan Mbeki Local Municipality was fined R200-million, while the Thaba Chweu and Rand West local municipalities were each fined R10-million.
In each case, the courts ordered that the fines be allocated towards addressing sewage pollution and restoring wastewater infrastructure, Majodina said. DM
Where to report sewage leaks
or environmental contraventions
Environmental contraventions can be reported to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) via the Environmental Crime & Incidents Hotline on 0800 205 005 or by email at envirocrime@dffe.gov.za
Nelson Mandela Bay residents can report sewer blockages and sewage spills via the Municipality’s official reporting channels by contacting the Municipal Call Centre on 0800 20 50 50, using the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Mobile App or emailing waterleaks@mandelametro.gov.za.