​Lerato Mailoane
The Gauteng Provincial Government on Tuesday visited the Sedibeng District Municipality to assess service delivery.
The programme lead by Premier David Makhura inspected progress on the water and sanitation projects implemented in the region.
The Premier was joined by Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, and Deputy Minister David Mahlobo.
Makhura said the minister and his entourage will spend the week assessing the security of water supply and sanitation infrastructure. 
"Although issues on water and sanitation are the responsibility of national government and the municipality. A section 139 intervention has been instituted by the provincial government to fix the problem," Makhura said. 
Their first stop was at the Rietspruit Weir where protracted seepage of raw sewer spills into the Vaal Dam as well as local households in the area.
Government has identified ageing infrastructure as a contributing factor in the spillage.
"We need to stop the spillage into the spillage in the Vaal River after that we need to clean up the Vaal River," said Makhura.
Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has appointed contractors to unblock sewer systems that flow into the river.
According to the department, the 18 contractors are hired on an emergency basis to attend to the challenges.
Minister Mchunu said Rand Water has been appointed and to oversee the contractors.
"We are going to start, and we are going to finish, and we will make sure we clean up this area."
Mchunu said the Vaal River system cuts through and benefits four Provinces.
In this regard, a collaborative intergovernmental approach is required to holistically respond to pollution challenges.
"We are not going to succeed as the department alone in fixing the cause of the pollution in the water system. 
"We are here to remove sewer from the river and ensure that the system is fixed so we can grow the economy of this area," Mchunu said.
Ahead of the Investment Summit on Friday, members of the Executive Council are spending the week in the Sedibeng region attending to various service delivery issues, including waste management, housing and water.