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Khayelitsha residents march to Sea Point to complain about the lack of provision of services.
- The Coalition for Social Justice and the residents of Khayelitsha are celebrating 11 years since they marched to the Civic Center in Cape Town due to the lack of provision of basic services in the area.
- The SJC accused the city of Cape Town of failing to provide services on the grounds that residents were “land grabbers with the intention of jumping the waiting list for housing.”
- According to the city of Cape Town, it is not possible to serve unplanned settlements
Residents of an informal Khayelitsha settlement in Cape Town have faced the difficult situation of being denied basic services on the Sea Point waterfront.
Residents, along with the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), held demonstrations to mark 11 years since more than 600 Khayelitsha residents marched to the Civic Center in Cape Town to form long lines to symbolize their daily struggle.
SJC spokesperson Nomathemba Masemula said: “It has been 11 years since then and to this day, residents of informal settlements in Cape Town still approach the SJC, requesting assistance in getting the City of Cape Town to Cabo complies with its constitutional norms, obligation to provide access to basic services in poor communities.
“This Human Rights Day cannot be celebrated by these residents when they live in a municipality that refuses to provide the most basic and fundamental rights to the poor and working-class residents of Cape Town.”
Masemula said that the communities had asked for support to cope with the difficult situation of not having access to water and sanitation.
READ | Some informal settlements in Cape Town without water during Covid-19, says SJC
“Access to toilets for women living in informal settlements is a dangerous and terrifying experience. In some communities, the few existing toilets are far away or not fully available. Many residents, including women, have to walk distances far from their homes to relieve themselves in bushes, which are more likely to open them up to attacks like rapes and assaults, “he said.
He also accused the City Council of not providing services on the grounds that residents were “hoarders with the intention of jumping the waiting list for housing.”
“The other reason given is that the houses of these residents are located on privately owned land and that the provision of basic services becomes difficult for the City, despite the fact that many of these communities are on publicly owned land, with some owned by the city of Cape Town, the Western Cape provincial government and / or the national government, “he said.
During the protest, residents explained that they were exposed to unsanitary conditions and suffered from a lack of basic water and sanitation. Residents said they only had five taps to share among 67,000 families and that they had to pay R2 to access the bathroom in a shopping center.
According to Xanthea Limberg, a member of the Mayor’s Water and Waste Services Committee, approximately 3,500 taps and 17,724 toilets were provided in the Khayelitsha area.
“The provision of services is a challenge when, due to illegal occupation, residents settle on land that is not suitable for the installation of such services. Nor can the City install services on privately owned land without permission and, on these cases, it can only install services in the periphery, on land owned by the City. ”
Limberg said approximately 50,000 restrooms have currently been provided to residents in 181,000 homes in informal settlements across the city, including restroom maintenance and cleaning services, which were continued throughout the closure.
According to the City: “Numerous newly established communities are demanding services, but currently the City cannot serve these unplanned settlements, as existing recognized informal settlements are prioritized based on available resources, which are not unlimited.
“Priority is given to planned and budgeted projects. Assessments of all illegally occupied areas are being carried out and will continue to be carried out throughout the metro. Noting that the vast majority of settlements have been established on unsuitable or highly constrained land for the provision of services and land where the installation of bulk services for maintenance was never planned. “
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