MunicipalNews

DA pleased with sanitation workshop

The Ekurhuleni MMC for Water and Energy, Aubrey Nxumalo, arranged a sanitation workshop for ward councillors, this week.

The DA claims this is a result of the party visiting14 areas in the previous two weeks, to examine the state of sanitation in the poorest areas of the East Rand.

“As a result of the Democratic Alliance’s recent, well-publicised sanitation survey of informal settlements throughout the Ekurhuleni Metro, the ruling party has finally been galvanised into action,” said a spokesperson for the DA.

The DA’s tour included the notorious Plastic Squatter Camp in Brakpan; Ergo in Springs; Harry Gwala and the Actonville Hostels in Benoni; Ramaphosa, Roodekop, Crossroads and Delmore in Boksburg; Makalakaleng and Mandela informal settlements in Kathlehong; Makause in Germiston and Vuzimusi and Madelakufar in Tembisa.

“Since its formation in 2000,the council has paid virtually no attention to sanitation in informal settlements,” said the spokesperson.

“Despite repeated denials, Census 2011 figures indicate that the metro’s 120 informal settlements have over 100 000 sub-standard toilets which, in more favourable circumstances, as many as 10 families are forced to share.”

One example of this desperate situation exists in the Plastic squatter camp, at the entrance to Brakpan, which was developed some years ago by people making a living from foraging and recycling the waste in the Weltevreden Dump Site.

There are no toilets at all for the estimated 2 000 people living amongst the trees. They use the bush or plastic packets as their toilets.

“All of the other areas visited — as well as the balance of the metro’s informal settlements — have residents living in varying degrees of squalor and filth as a result of inadequate or non-existent toilet facilities and running water, “ said the spokesperson.

“The so-called chemical toilets are dirty and very often not replenished by council with chemicals at all.

“Many are moved into the yards of shack dwellers who don’t want to use toilets that others fail to clean, and are kept locked by the `owners’.

“People are attacked at night when they walk alone in the dark to use a communal chemical toilet.”

According to DA caucus leader Shelley Loe, she has brought the appalling conditions to the attention of the mayor, Mondli Gungubele, in almost every monthly council meeting for the past two years, with no response until this week.

“Regardless of the ruling party’s administrative failures, the sanitation workshop showed democracy in action, with the ANC finally reacting to the DA’s determination to make life in informal settlements easier and more dignified for residents.

“Hopefully an action plan will result in bringing swift relief to the metro’s informal settlements.

“The DA will monitor the situation and if no radical change is seen by Christmas, the party will take action against the metro.”

At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here.

Related Articles

Back to top button