The cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal has claimed 15 lives and 34 others have been admitted to the Jubilee District Hospital, where a command centre has been activated.

'The Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment [Works], the frequent change of mayors in the City of Tshwane and 'defaults' on agreements are at the epicentre of the Hammanskraal water issues," said the deputy minister of human settlements, water and sanitation, David Mahlobo, at a media briefing at Hammanskraal's Jubilee District Hospital on Monday.

Mahlobo's words follow a cholera outbreak in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, which has claimed 15 lives to date and has been linked to the consumption of contaminated water.

Hammanskraal's water is supplied by the City of Tshwane, Magalies Water, Rand Water and the Temba Water purification plant. So far, according to Themba Fosi, the Tshwane MMC for utilities and operations, Magalies Water, Rand Water and the Temba Water purification plant have been found to be free of any traces of the Vibrio cholerae bacteria.

Investigations continue to track where the cholera outbreak originated.

The government has also established a command centre -- a collaboration between the departments of Water and Sanitation, Health, Social Development, the City of Tshwane and others -- to coordinate efforts.

"The multidisciplinary teams are established at the technical level. We will have a stream dealing with issues of health... scanning and mobility so that this...