Rat-tailed maggots discovered in water containers in Cape Town led to news coverage by the news 
service of e-tv, eNews, on six occasions. The Director-General of Water Affairs and a member of the public complained to the Commission that the matter was sensationalized and that the overall impression was created that the maggots were in the water systems of the cities concerned. The Director-General authoritatively denied that this was the case. The Tribunal held that a constant theme in the six broadcasts was the inclusion of the views of officials. They explained that the maggots did not and could not find their origin in the system as such. The eggs were laid in dirty water outside the system and the maggots entered pipes through cracks in pipes. Of course, they could also enter trough the tap itself, but then they came from external sources and not via the water system for which the Department of Water Affairs takes the responsibility. An insert was shown where one official even drank water from a tap in an area where complainants lived. Of course, the complainants were also afforded an opportunity to convey their suspicion that the maggots were in the water system. However, I believe that the benefit of the inserts was to warn the public against dirty water and leaks in pipes. Of course, the shots showing the maggots in water were shocking and even hair-raising. But that was important. The public had to be warned against dirty water. The best way to do this was to show shots of the rat-tailed maggots.The Director-General of Water Affairs, Mr Sindane, who personally appeared before us expressed his concern, in a well-motivated address, that the Department as such was not approached before the news was taken to the public. His concern is understandable, but the message which was sent out by officials was a strong one and only the overly sensitive or suspicious would still have been concerned after these news casts. The accent was on dirty water which clearly did not fall under the responsibility of the Department or any local council. The slight suspicion which could have remained made persons more careful of dirty water. On the whole, the Tribunal, by way of a majority vote, was of the view that the Department and officials presented a positive point of view and that their view overshadowed the views of the suspicious.
Commissioner Mkwanazi would have upheld the complaint. In her minority view she states as follows: Very little attempt was made to impress upon the viewer the important distinction between the municipal water system and pipes of taps to be found in isolated areas, which have drains, buckets and tubs with dirty shallow standing water. This failure created a reasonable impression that the maggots had infested the water system and thereby had made the water unsafe for human consumption. This impression is borne out by the comments made by the members of the public interviewed and the level of panic they themselves exhibited with regard to prospects of having to drink the tap water. More of a concern was the fact that the broadcaster sustained this impression, notwithstanding the knowledge that the municipal water systems, in the Western Cape, Gauteng and Pietermaritzburg were not affected. I would, accordingly, have upheld the complaint. Commissioner Olivier concurred in the judgment of the Chairperson. The complaint was, accordingly, not upheld.