By REGINALD KANYANE
25 June 2025- In a decisive move to combat rising water pollution and protect South Africa’s water security, the Deputy Minister of Water and Sanitation, Sello Seitlholo, will embark on an oversight working visit to Rustenburg, North West Province from 27 to 28 June 2025.
The Department of Water and Sanitation Head of Communications, Dr Mandla Mathebula said the visit highlights Seitlholo’s firm commitment to ensuring that wastewater treatment facilities operate effectively and comply with environmental standards. Mathebula said with pollution increasingly threatening the quality of South Africa’s water sources, Seitlholo is taking decisive steps to assess, intervene and support long-term solutions that protect public health and water security.
“A focal point of the working visit will be Vaalkop Dam, where invasive alien vegetation, driven by pollution, has overtaken the water body and is severely hampering water abstraction and treatment operations, thus directly affecting operations of the Vaalkop Water Treatment Works.
“The oversight visit will also include strategic stakeholder engagements with local municipalities in the Rustenburg area and the Magalies Water Board, aimed at finding collaborative solutions to pollution, infrastructure deficiencies, and long-term water management challenges,” he said.
The Guardian 