The seawater feeding into the desalination plant at the V&A Waterfront is polluted by raw sewage from the Green Point outfall pipe and is sometimes up to 400% dirtier than specifications the City gave companies that tendered to build the plant.

This is according to Musa Ndlovu, director of Quality Filtrations Systems (QFS), the company that was awarded the contract to build the temporary desalination plant in January last year, when Cape Town was facing the prospect of taps running dry on Day Zero in early April.

Ndlovu said once they had found out about the high level of pollution, it had cost them millions to modify the plant to deal with it.

“The City gave us tender data about the feedwater – everyone that tendered had to work off the same data, not do their own tests – and we designed a plant accordingly. Then when we did tests during commissioning of the plant, we found contaminants that were not in the tender data,” Ndlovu said.

They warned the City, and then spent an additional R7m on installing extra equipment to ensure that the two million litres it produced every day met the national drinking water standards.

Breach of contract

This is one of several areas of dispute between the City of Cape Town and QFS, which has terminated its contract with the City and is now suing the City for R80m for breach of contract and for damages.

In its defence, the City has said a requirement in the tender was that the desalination plant had to be able “to cope with varying sea water quality conditions” likely to be found at the site close to the harbour entrance.

Ndlovu said desalination plants could handle normal variation in seawater quality, which was around 10%. To be on the safe side, the company had opted to build a plant that could cope with 30% variation of the seawater quality data the City had given them.

“But 400% is abnormal. We realised the variation was caused mainly by raw sewage – which the City itself puts into the sea. They didn’t disclose that in the tender specification data, otherwise we would have designed a plant fit for that purpose,” she said.

QFS has expertise in treating water contaminated with sewage: In 2010, it built South Africa’s first direct reclamation plant in drought-stricken Beaufort West, producing 2.3 million litres of drinking water from sewage effluent every day.

Ndlovu said QFS later found out that Leslie Petrik, a professor of chemistry at UWC, had written to the City in September 2017 to say the tender specifications were inadequate to produce safe drinking water, given the proximity to the Green Point sewage outfall pipe and the type of desalination plant specified by the City. 

“She warned the City that the tender data excluded sewage contamination, but the City issued the tender in November without this data.”

Sewage contamination

On March 13 last year, the company’s desalination plant, complete with modifications to deal with the sewage-contaminated water, was ready.

The water it produced was tested by the City’s scientific services and by an independent laboratory, and was found to meet the SA National Standards (SANS) 241 for drinking water quality.

But then nothing happened. 

Although Cape Town was still facing Day Zero, and the mid-March dam levels had sunk to 22% of storage capacity, and each Capetonian was restricted to only 50 litres of water a day, the City did not give the company the go-ahead to feed the 2 million litres a day of desalinated water into the system.

QFS wrote to the City several times asking for the go-ahead.

Instead, on March 29, the City’s water and sanitation department issued an instruction to QFS that it had to do a whole range of further lab tests, including tests for sewage contamination, as a “raw water baseline risk assessment requirement”.

The City offered to pay for the extra tests, because it had not been part of the initial requirement, but later said it would not pay.

“It was never a requirement for us to treat sewage contaminants. We had to spend our capital on treating the 400% abnormal feed water variation. Our plant always produced compliant water. They City has never questioned that. The City however decided not to compensate us for our plant upgrade and the high operating cost caused by them dumping sewage into the ocean,” Ndlovu said.

The City eventually gave permission for QFS to inject the desalinated water into the system on May 28 – but only 25% of the 2 million litres.

On September 4, six months after the plant was built and ready, the City finally give permission to inject the full 2 million litres a day into the system.

QFS managing director Herman Smit said the list of additional pollutants the City had told the company to test for was a “full spectrum” sewage analysis.

This proved, he said, that they had known about the sewage contamination.

“This is the only reason they delayed injection into the network. In retrospect they were very scared to accept final water as a result of the raw water sewage contamination, but never divulged knowledge thereof,” Smit said.

The company says the contract stipulates that the City would pay it monthly rental for the availability of the water, whether or not it was buying the water. It says it sent the City invoices for “rental” but these were not paid.

Disputes

“So many things went wrong. We had five disputes with the City. The contract says if there are disputes the parties must go to mediation. We tried to get the City to go to mediation, but they ignored us. In the end we had to go to the High Court to get an order to force the City to go to mediation,” Ndlovu said.

“And when they arrived, they came with five attorneys and an advocate. From Webber Wentzel. The mediation process was meant to take four days, but it took five months.”

Ndlovu says the City’s advocate conceded in the mediation that it had to pay QFS a monthly rental fee.

QFS wanted a mediation report, but the City said there was to be no report.

“We think they said no mediation report because they knew that it would be evidence.”

Ndlovu said they had been left with no option but to go to court to sue the City for breach of contract for non-payment of rental, and for the extra costs incurred from sewage pollution.

“We are saying to the City: ‘Pay us what you owe us and we will go on our way’.”

Asked to comment on QFS’ claims that the City had made no mention of sewage contamination in the specifications given to companies tendering to build the temporary desalination plant, the City said it rejected any implication that false information had been supplied to anyone “deliberately”.

Councillor Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for water and waste, said the contractor who designed the desalination plant was responsible for “taking cognisance of normal variations in water quality” and for building a plant “robust enough to accommodate raw water quality during all seasonal variations”.

She did not stipulate the percentage of variation the City regarded as “normal”.

Seasonal pollution

Limberg said the seawater data in the tender documentation was from seawater analyses done in September 2017.

“Small areas of the coastal water around Cape Town are contaminated by various pollutants. This is variable and often seasonal.”

This was normal for any city, she said. Sources of contamination were vast and included “urban run-off, household discharge, stormwater discharge, treated effluent discharge from our wastewater works, various marine outfalls, urban litter, etc”.

Limberg said the seawater was tested monthly around the sewage outfalls, and every two weeks at bathing beaches.

She maintains the contract with QFS did not include monthly rental payment.

“QFS was responsible for the cost of establishing the plant, which cost would have been recovered by QFS through the sale of water to the City,” Limberg said.

Ndlovu said the company was disappointed with the City, which had a good reputation, and they had never thought their money might be at risk with a City of Cape Town contract.

“We are trying to understand it. There must be something big behind this. We heard that the V&A desalination plant was Patricia de Lille’s baby. There have been a lot of political wars, and maybe they’re trying to kill it off – but that can’t be done at the expense of a bona fide company,” Ndlovu said.

Still smarting from the ANC’s disappointing elections results in the Western Cape, provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs wants the party to go back to the people on the ground, unify and renew.

Speaking to News24 on Friday morning, before jetting off to Gauteng for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s inauguration, Jacobs used the words “unity”, “renewal” and “non-racialism” often and provided a brutally frank assessment of the party’s worst electoral performance in the province.

The ANC garnered 28.5% of the vote on the provincial ballot, down from 2014’s 32.89%. The disappointment that was evident on Jacobs’ face in the Western Cape’s results centre two weeks before, was still near the surface. 

“Whilst the facts and figures are there, in the air, the feeling on the ground is that people’s lives have not improved – both at a national level, also in the Western Cape. Our campaign was mainly at a Western Cape level. So, we anticipated a better result. I mean, the polls were saying to us that we are at about 38%. And we also anticipated a gatvol-factor in the DA. Zille in her later years was almost like the Zuma-years, and people felt that she alienated her from her constituency.” 

Perfect storm

“There was a perfect storm, and we didn’t take advantage of it.” 

Contributing to the result was a low turnout in poorer areas – traditionally the ANC’s strongholds. According to the numbers that Jacobs has since crunched, the turnout in the poorer areas was around 50%, while it was up to 80% in the more affluent, traditionally DA-supporting areas. 

Added to that was the plethora of smaller parties, which also took some votes from the ANC.

But Jacobs isn’t only going to look for external factors.

“Look, we needed to go quiet and do introspection, but some of us chose to start the blame game. For me it is very clear, we must take collective responsibility for the situation, we all are disappointed. We didn’t resonate with the communities, the communities told us strong stories,” he said.

However, it did seem there was a vote for Ramaphosa, as the ANC support in the province was higher on the national ballot than what it was on the provincial ballot. 

“Ten-to-one, if your councillor wasn’t popular in the area, you wouldn’t get the support in the area,” Jacobs explained. 

“Part of the reflection for us is what can we do differently. So I made the call for unity, that we must regroup, we must look at what is the constituency saying to us. There is unhappiness with the DA, but it doesn’t translate automatically into support for the ANC. There is a bigger voter apathy, especially between women and young people.

“So for us, it is back to basics again.”

This means literally hitting the ground, speaking to communities, taking up their struggles and for ANC branches to be “vibrant communities”. 

Negative campaigning

It still doesn’t sit well with Jacobs that the DA’s campaign asking voters to keep the ANC and EFF out of the Western Cape seemingly paid dividends. He calls it “fear-mongering” and “swart gevaar” tactics.

“We didn’t do a negative campaign, while the DA kept [on] with this thing of ‘Keep the ANC, EFF out’. It’s a subtle form of racism. It’s basically saying, don’t vote for the issues, vote for keeping blacks out. 

“They couldn’t use the corruption ticket anymore because [Jacob] Zuma is no longer around. So it had to use ‘Keep the blacks out’. And that fear-mongering is still very prevalent, the dilemma with poor, coloured voters, [they think] ‘Maybe my future is going to be better off with a white premier than maybe with the African ANC’. 

“And that is a narrative we want to break. We want to say we need a Western Cape that is broadly inclusive, that represents all the constituencies. And the DA has the numeric advantage, but they really don’t know how to bring people together. Both in their processes and in a non-racial character, which is a key thing.” 

In the aftermath of the election, the internal divisions in the ANC’s provincial structures reared its head in public.

The provincial treasurer, Maurencia Gillion (who on Thursday was sworn in as an MP in the National Council of Provinces), was suspended after the controversial donation by Iqbal Survé. Last Friday, the suspension was lifted, which was the next day denied by PEC-member and provincial spokesperson Lionel Adendorf, who was then informed he is no longer provincial spokesperson.

Western Cape elections campaign manager Ebrahim Rasool declined to take up his seat in the Western Cape legislature as Cameron Dugmore took the position of leader of the official opposition. 

Meanwhile, the rumour mill had it that Jacobs was sympathetic to the faction that is manoeuvring to oust Ramaphosa, ostensibly with ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule as the lynchpin.  

Speaking on these matters, Jacobs doesn’t mention names. 

“Look, it was unfortunate that the national issues of Nasrec came into our province.

“Now, it is very clear where I stand as a person. If you know my history, I’m the person that delivered 180 votes for the president [Cyril Ramaphosa] in Nasrec. Me. I’m not being boastful, I’m being factual. I was the secretary, it was difficult to work against a president [Jacob Zuma] at that time, and we needed to keep our hands on the flag. Through difficult periods, we were committed to change, and I am still committed to change. And renewal. But unity and renewal is not either or. It must be and, and. 

“And there has been a mischievous approach to paint me in a particular corner. And I think unsuccessfully so. Look, I’m very clear, I support the president and his renewal efforts. I was the one that fought for these renewal efforts.” 

Jacobs said he is strongly committed to selfless leadership and to end corruption. 

“Leaders that are found on the wrong side of the law, must take responsibility.

“I also know the ANC post-Nasrec, and I have to work in that framework, and I have a boss, and we respect the president and the secretary-general and all the national office bearers and all the NEC members.

“And when the president called post-Nasrec for unity, it was for unity around a renewal programme, it’s not unity for the sake of unity. It is unity around doing the right thing, drawing the line in the sand.”

Mistakes

He said while they were in election mode, they couldn’t wash their dirty linen in public. 

“We acknowledge our mistakes. I’m on record saying I apologise collectively, even though I didn’t steal. We apologise for our collective mistakes that we have made in the past. We’ve apologised for that, but we in the ANC will have an approach to deal with our own internal renewal. And that for me is the key thing.”

About Survé’s controversial R1m donation, he said: “Look, we were in a difficult position. We’re on a shoestring budget and we have to feed a lot of people.

“So, for the record: No money was misappropriated.”

He said there will be an auditing process, including the regional structures. 

He said it is unfortunate that some comrades made their “internal matters” public.

“I don’t want to comment on that. For the record: if anyone has evidence of anything untoward on me, put it out there, I challenge them.” 

“So what is our way forward? I think for us, we’re getting local elections assessment reports. We get our structures to go to constituencies to say, ‘Why did we get what we have?’. People don’t want the ANC fighting. I think for me that is the key thing. 

“So, we must collectively apologise to the people for some of our irresponsible [behaviour] – I’m saying collectively because some of our members are irresponsible individually. It’s not organisationally disciplined to put your internal differences for public consumption.” 

“As secretary, I call on all our members to raise their differences and issues in the appropriate structures of the ANC. The ANC has a massive internal democracy, we’re not like other parties, one mistake then DC and then they fire you, look at the DA. The DA is a Stalinist organisation, they don’t allow dissent. If you have a slightly different view to the line, they deal with you.

“Where in the ANC, we encourage a thousand flowers to bloom! And we celebrate the differences we have. So I’m calling on the people to stop playing to the gallery. 

“I’m also calling to people who have lost out on the lists to accept that they didn’t make it.”

Constructive opposition

He explained that the ANC’s internal list process is very robust, but that the party is looking at renewing this process. Meanwhile, they intend to be a constructive opposition in the Western Cape. 

“We’ve also appointed a very strong team in the legislature, led by Cameron. Cameron is a senior veteran. We are very proud of him being the leader of the opposition, it demonstrates our commitment to non-racialism. It demonstrates our commitment to getting the best people in the team.

“Cameron will promote what we call an effective opposition, but also a constructive opposition. We want from day one to ensure that premier [Alan] Winde’s cabinet deliver for all our people, not deliver for a privileged few, for those that have voted [DA], and deliver for nepotism and jobs for pals and this culture of wit for purpose and patronage that they have. We want them to serve the poor, including African communities, including coloured communities, even those that didn’t vote for them. 

“Cameron and his team are going to keep this new administration on their toes,” he promised.

“We want the blame game to stop. They are in government, Winde must lead us now. He must govern, he must govern all of us. We respect him. He must govern well, he must listen to people. He must serve. He must come into areas and see how people are staying. Don’t rely on the smoke and the mirrors and the blaming of national government.”

Jacobs’ life in politics started in the late 1980s as a member of Congress of South African Students (COSAS) and the Western Cape Students Congress (WECSCO). His leading role in the defiance campaign across high schools in the Cape led to his incarceration in Victor Verster prison. 

In the 1990s he worked as an administrator and researcher for the ANC parliamentary caucus, where he also was the founding shop steward for Nehawu in Parliament. 

National Assembly

This is where he is now returning. On Wednesday, he was one of the MPs sworn into the National Assembly.

“Look, as for me, I’m fortunate that I’m in Parliament now. It is a new site of struggle. I’m very grateful and humbled for the opportunity that the ANC has bestowed on me to go to Parliament. I’m hopeful that we can use that space, especially for the people on the Cape Flats. A lot of people on the Cape Flats feel marginalised and alienated to progress and development.”

He spoke passionately about the improvement he wants to see on the Cape Flats, vowing that he will be a “champion for national investment of the ANC national government to the Western Cape”.

“If there is the youth employment process that the president is rolling out, one million jobs, then I’m going to put up my hand: ‘And president, what is our quota for the Western Cape for those one million jobs?’

“We need rehabilitation centres. We need to kill the factory that produces the drug economy. I am using those strong words. If you give that youngster on the Cape Flats hope and an opportunity that there is an alternative to the criminal economy, he will go there.

“That, for me, is a personal drive.”

Cyril’s renewal

Apart from this self-imposed mission he is taking to Parliament, he also needs to organise a provincial ANC conference by September or October.

He wants people to join the ANC, and for existing members to renew their membership in the run-up to that conference. 

“Be part of Cyril’s renewal. Because if you renew and unite the ANC and you build a better and stronger ANC it will bode well for South Africa. There is a direct relationship between a stronger, united, better ANC, and a stronger, united, better South Africa. 

“Because the ANC is the only organisation in South Africa that can look after the majority, African communities, but also say that we strive for non-racialism. People like coloured and white and Indian communities can find expression of a home and a space and place for them in the ANC. So the ANC is modernising and it is remembering non-racialism. 

“Our job is to strive to that unity. So we’re going to work, to the best of our abilities, to strive for maximum unity to go to provincial conference. The conference must unite us around a programme for constructing victory for 2021.”