Pretoria – A special council sitting in the City of Tshwane convened to allow Finance MMC Peter Sutton to table a budget speech for 2023/2024 financial year got off to a chaotic start today.
Drama unfolded when chanting EFF councillors entered the Tshwane House council chamber, demanding that mayor Cilliers Brink must drink dirty water “from Hammanskraal” they brought in a 2 litre bottle.
Many people in the township have since May 15 been admitted at Jubilee district hospital after they fell ill due to diarrhoeal disease or gastrointestinal infection said to be caused by consumption of contaminated water.
To date, according to the Gauteng Department of Health, at least 17 people have passed on from the disease outbreak.
Cholera: EFF regional leader in Tshwane Obakeng Ramabodu addresses a council sitting amid disruptions caused by party councillors protesting in solidarity with Hammanskraal residents to have access to clean water. @CityTshwane @GautengHealth #choleraoutbreak pic.twitter.com/07b6x3XQvV
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) May 24, 2023
Council Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana, who presided over the meeting, was taken by surprise when shortly after he had declared a meeting duly constituted was approached by protesting EFF councillors wielding placards bearing messages condemning the quality of water in Hammanskraal.
Ndzwanana stopped short of talking and looked at the EFF regional leader Obakeng Ramabodu, who was standing next to the speaker’s podium while also pouring dirty and brownish water from a bottle into a glass.
Amid the drama, Ramabodu moved to a podium prepared for Sutton to deliver his speech and started to address the house.
He said: “We are here as permitted by the Constitution of SA to protest in this council meeting in solidarity with the people of Hammanskraal who were murdered by the DA administration because of their lack of leadership.”
Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink speaks at Tshwane House on the cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal and the problems surrounding it. Video: Jacques Naude (ANA) @CityTshwane @GautengHealth #CholeraOutbreak #Cholera pic.twitter.com/etCpYHZv0R
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) May 24, 2023
He also remarked that the EFF was “not politicking on the matter” after health authorities on Monday officially declared that there was a cholera outbreak.
He vowed that the council sitting was not going to proceed, especially after the party had on Tuesday written a letter to a council speaker, asking for the postponement of the meeting to allow the municipality to deal with the plight of Hammanskraal residents.
On Wednesday, the Gauteng Department of Health said: “The number of patients that have been seen at the Jubilee district hospital is sitting at 165 and this number includes 18 patients who have been transferred to other health facilities in Tshwane. The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of Cholera is standing at 29.”
The department further said currently there are at least 67 patients admitted due to gastrointestinal infection.
“The department continues to urge people to ensure proper hand-hygiene which includes thorough washing of hands with water and soap or alcohol-based sanitiser before handling food and after using the toilet. We advise the public to report to their nearest health facilities when they present with diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and dehydration symptoms, so they can receive medical treatment. We further reiterate the call for the public to avoid consuming known or suspected contaminated food and water,” said the department.
Inside the council chamber at Tshwane House, Ramabodu challenged Brink to take a sip of brownish water said to be from Hammanskraal in order to publicly demonstrate that it was indeed drinkable.
“We have brought water from Hammanskraal. Brink must drink water because you are busy parading tests here; you are saying that there is no cholera. Drink it and let’s see if you are going to wake up in the morning,” he said.
Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink speaks in council on the cholera crisis in Hammanskraal @CityTshwane @GautengHealth #CholeraOutbreak pic.twitter.com/ZpKjHMuY4x
— Pretoria News (@pretorianews) May 24, 2023
On Tuesday, MMC for Human Settlements Ofentse Madzebatela said the city testing results from multiple sites around Temba and Hammanskraal have come back negative for E.Coli and cholera.
“However, the City is still awaiting the confirmatory test results from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to determine the actual source of contamination. I would like to send out my heartfelt condolences to the families of the residents who have succumbed to the illness and wish a speedy recovery to those hospitalised,” said Madzebatela.
The EFF was adamant that the council sitting was not going to proceed as planned.
Ramabodu said: “We are here to protest; we are not going to harm anyone; we are not violent. We are peaceful as permitted by the Constitution of South Africa.”
Speaker Ndzwanana requested for an hour-long caucus with the leaders of political parties and chief whips in his office in a bid to quell tension in council.
Meanwhile, some EFF members embarked on a march outside Tshwane House to demand the insourcing of security guards.
Pretoria News
