AfriForum has accused the Ngaka Modiri Molema Municipality of not recognising the severity of the potentially water-related deaths of babies in the area.

In March a member of the public allegedly reported that eight children under the age of two had died in Biesiesvlei. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases confirmed to Eyewitness News that it was investigating the outbreaks of possible water-related deaths in the district, but did not reveal any details.

According to AfriForum, the municipality issued a statement saying that no E. coli was present in its water and that it couldn’t have been caused the death of babies in the North West town.

Carmea Huysamen, Provincial Coordinator for AfriForum in the North West, said that the amount of nitrates found in the water samples taken by the municipality can be dangerous. The accepted nitrate level in drinking water in terms of the South African water standard is 20 units. The results of tests conducted by the municipality found up to 29 units, AfriForum reported.

Independent tests by AfriForum conducted on 8 July found E. coli in the Harts River, which could be the possible cause of the deaths in the Itekeng/Biesiesvlei area. The municipality did not take water samples of the Harts River.

“Another problem is the sewage spillages in Itekeng. The sewage is visible between homes and the children of the community therefore play in the sewage water. Sewage water has high levels of E. coli, and children can be exposed to it,” Huysamen said.