A Public Protector report slams sanitation housing and fire safety gaps while ordering ministers and the mayor to submit urgent remedial action plans.
Public Protector, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka. Picture: Gallo Images/Die Burger/Jaco Marais
The Public Protector has found that the City of Cape Town (CoCT) failed to provide basic municipal services to residents of Langa Flats and Khayelitsha, saying it amounts to maladministration and improper prejudice.
The investigation found a sustained pattern of service delivery failures by the city at N2 Gateway, which constitutes a “comprehensive violation of residents’ fundamental rights”.
‘Violation of residents’ fundamental rights’
Problems include fire safety equipment, structural housing defects, inadequate sanitation infrastructure, healthcare facility safety defects, and electricity coordination failures.
“These systematic failures demonstrate the CoCT’s breach of the constitutional values and principles enshrined in section 195(1) [of the Constitution], which mandate accountability, responsiveness, transparency and efficiency in public administration,” the report said.
The city has, however, defended itself, saying it has already addressed the issues raised, cooperated fully with the Public Protector, did not create the N2 Gateway problems, and shared responsibility with the national government.
Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka presented the investigation findings in Cape Town on Tuesday.
She said the probe was initiated from complaints received during the Public Protector’s annual roadshows from March 2022 and April 2023.
Residents expressed dissatisfaction with CoCT’s delivery of essential services, including addressing sewage maintenance, cleanliness issues and the city’s expectation for residents to contribute to cleaning communal areas.
Residents complained to Public Protector on service delivery issues
The city was also criticised for its failure to transfer flats to Langa flat residents and for not addressing road infrastructure issues.
Gcaleka said during the investigation, systematic challenges were identified, such as inadequate security measures at clinics, the rotational availability of doctors, and the proximity of clinics to hospitals.
In terms of waste management issues, waste is collected four days a week in Langa and five days a week in Khayelitsha, but Gcaleka said residents exacerbate the problem by dumping waste into sewage infrastructure.
“The allegation that basic municipal services are not rendered in conformity with the Constitution and the law is substantiated,” the public protector said in the investigation findings.
The findings also included that the city’s failure to sign lease agreements with Langa Flats residents undermines their security of tenure.
CoCT’s failure to repair sewer infrastructure and maintain fire safety equipment was also noted as posing a risk to residents’ wellbeing.
Sanitation, housing, fire and safety gaps
In relation to SST-Marikana’s residents, the report said the city failed to provide the residents with adequate water access, violating their constitutional rights.
Gcaleka also said the city failed to engage with Eskom before relocating residents, and following intervention, CoCT engaged with Eskom, but the residents remain without electricity.
The city’s failure to install smoke detectors and CCTV surveillance at two clinics was also highlighted, as it poses a risks to healthcare users and staff.
The public protector also said the city has a deficiency in enforcing land use bylaws and addressing illegal dumping, compromising residents’ constitutional rights to adequate sanitation.
Furthermore, the CoCT’s failure to implement reasonable measures to address waste accumulation and illegal dumping was also highlighted.
Gcaleka recognised city’s efforts
Gcaleka, however, also observed that despite the city’s efforts to address service delivery challenges in Langa and Khayelitsha, sustainability and effectiveness are hindered by resource limitation, competing priorities and infrastructure backlogs.
She said that critical interventions like sewage infrastructure rehabilitation, CCTV installation, back-up power provision, public infrastructure maintenance, and security enhancements are constrained by budgetary constraints and limited financial resources.
The public protector, however, said that financial constraints do not absolve municipalities from their constitutional obligations, but she raised concerns about the adequacy of the intergovernmental fiscal framework and equitable revenue allocation.
The city responded to the report by welcoming the Public Protector’s recognition that it worked closely with her office and has attended to all matters raised.
CoCT said it has already had plans for cleaning, refuse, sewer maintenance, and unlawful occupation at N2 Gateway, with refuse collected four times weekly, fire equipment maintained, sewer updates planned, and structural assessments done.
“It must be noted that the rental flats were built by the national and provincial governments, and the city had no part in their tenanting,” the city said.
On the occupants of N2 Gateway, it said only 94 had valid rental agreements, while 547 refused to enter into an agreement and 64 refused renewals, with many not qualifying under the Community Residential Units (CRU) Programme. The city said it will likely require court action to regulate the matter.
City defends itself
For the Khayelitsha relocation, the city confirmed water and sanitation access, plans an additional standpipe by mid-July, and is facilitating Eskom’s provision of electricity despite community protest concerns.
In terms of the two clinics, CoCT confirmed fire compliance and 24-hour security, stating that smoke detectors and CCTV will be installed after planned renovations.
“We are also encouraged that the PP has taken cognisance of the difficulty of providing free services without adequate support from the national state. The PP has made remedial action findings against the National Treasury and Department of Human Settlements as well, which are welcome,” the city said.
The public protector’s recommendations are as follows:
- Minister of Finance: Assess if funding adequately supports municipalities with backlogs and report findings within six months and submit assessment outcomes and proposed funding improvements to the Public Protector within 60 days.
- Minister of Human Settlements: Ensure national human settlements policy aligns with municipal realities and cooperative governance principles.
- Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs: Strengthen intergovernmental coordination for better planning and service delivery across government spheres.
- Executive mayor: Table report to Council within 60 days and oversee municipal manager’s implementation.
- Municipal manager: Provide a water and sanitation plan for SST-Marikana within 30 days; restore Khayelitsha high-mast lights and submit a maintenance plan within 30 days; develop a Langa Flats cleaning strategy and electrify ten families within 60 days; complete Langa and Khayelitsha sewerage repairs within 120 days and submit informal settlement regularisation and health facility fire safety plans within six months.
- MEC for Local Government: Monitor CoCT compliance quarterly and consider intervention if substantial non-compliance occurs.
ActionSA welcomes findings
ActionSA welcomed the findings and said it shows the DA administration has deepened inequalities rather than dismantling them.
“No government can claim success when entire communities are repeatedly denied the basic standard of service delivery that every resident deserves,” the party said.
“A city cannot call itself ‘best run’ while large sections of its population continue to experience second-class services.”
