For over 20 years, I have fished the dams at Brookwood Trout Farm in the Cradle of Humankind, a World Heritage Site. This family-run business can no longer stock trout because the collapse of the Mogale City sewage treatment facility has fouled the Blaaubankspruit. Trout are an indicator species, and the swiftness of the ecosystem collapse — with dire consequences for small businesses in the area — is also indicative of the consequences of state failure.
If that is the case, there are no results to show for it as far as I can tell from my last two visits to the area. There has been much debate about the presence of trout in South African waters, as the various species are not native to this region. In August, trout could survive in the dams, which rely on this water source. In the space of a couple of months, there had been a complete ecosystem collapse, though one long in the making.A stairwell at a Mogale City sewage treatment plant filled with untreated water.
There was not much to steal anyway. Much of the remaining infrastructure was stripped or in a state of decay.