Swartland is top performer Swartland Municipality has been recognised as one of the best municipalities in South Africa by the National Department of Water and Sanitation.
The municipality received the overall third place in the National Green Drop Report category for best performing municipality overall in South Africa. Its Wastewater Treatment Works WWTW site in the Riebeek Valley also received the best technical site assessment score in the country with 97%. In 2013 Swartland’s overall performance was scored 72%. In the newest report its overall performance has improved to 89%.
The municipality attributes this improvement as the result of years of hard work and investment in its infrastructure services. Executive Mayor Harold Cleophas says wastewater treatment facilities are part of the backbone of essential basic services municipalities are responsible for. “The proper functioning, planning, upgrading and maintenance of these services are therefore critical,” he said. “If this is not in place, it could result in service delivery failure on a catastrophic level as we see almost daily in other municipalities in South Africa, where raw sewerage is polluting rivers, and towns.”
Since 2013 the Swartland Municipality has built new WWTW facilities in Malmesbury and in the Riebeek Valley. New facilities are currently being The Wastewater Treatment Works WWTW site in the Riebeek Valley. constructed in Moorreesburg expected completion mid2023 and Darling expected completion end of 2022 . “Once all these projects are completed we will have invested approximately R342 million into our wastewater infrastructure over the past 10 years, from 2013 to 2023,” said Cleophas.
“This brings us within reaching distance of obtaining green drop certification status. Green drop status is awarded to facilities and municipalities with an overall score of 90% or more. Our goal is to reach and maintain green drop status within the next 2 years. It is our commitment to excellent service delivery to all our residents.” He explained ensuring sufficient bulk services, such as WWTW, is essential for environmental health and safety and economic growth as investors look for municipalities that can accommodate growth and support its investments with adequate infrastructure and service delivery.