Speech by Mr Marius Fransman, Western Cape special delegate & ANC Leader of the Opposition, National Council of Provinces (Parliament), August 26 2014

The Western Cape Government's Department of Human Settlements since 2009 alarmingly regressed in the provision of water and sanitation to poverty stricken people of this province who are mostly blacks living in townships. Oddly, national government wanted to intervene in 2009 to ensure services, but it was resisted by the premier!

Since 2009 the DA run Department has consistently failed to meet its annual targets for serviced sites to supposedly include free basic services like water and sanitation. Instead only about 50 000 sites were developed, but it received national grants for 90 000 sites during that time!

Moreover, after taking over from the ANC, the targets for serviced sites in the DA's provincial five year strategic plan till 2016 was more than a hundred thousand at the cost of dropping the number of built houses.

It only achieved about half of its own original target. In particular it delivered approximately 40 000 less serviced sites than the ANC in the five years up to 2009.

This means that for every serviced site, the DA failed and denied a family of about five people access to basic services. That means between 200 and 250 000 poor black people did not get a promised place to stay!

In this regard it comes as no surprise that the DA run Cape Town remains the biggest culprit each year consistently underspending on its human settlement targets and by implication on water and sanitation in particular.

In the latest financial year end for 2013/14 the DA run City of Cape Town again failed to spend over a billion Rand! This could have been utilised to alleviate the water and sanitation crisis!

Given the Cape's history of being far more advanced with more services and infrastructure than other places such as the Eastern Cape, it is rather mischievous to argue that the Western Cape is better compared than other provinces. This compares apples with oranges.

In other words, given the head start and advantage due to apartheid spatial spending, taken together with the massive budget allocated to the Cape by our democratic government, it should not be in a water and sanitation crisis!

Why then has the DA failed to fully address the backlog of basic services with water and sanitation?

The DA-run provincial and city government believes these poor and poverty stricken black African communities mainly residing in informal settlements are "refugees" or incomers! Even the Premier racistly refers to those who require education as "refugees"!

We know however that the civil servants are capable and competent to deliver those services.

But, the DA government has shown no political will to uplift these communities. The DA believes these communities don't belong here, seemingly saying if the "refugees" suffer, they will go back!

The evidence is clear: The DA government claims to be so efficient, but continuously fails the poor. It does not want proper and dignified services to those areas.

Ironically, this is the same DA government that delivered services such as the BRT, bicycle lanes and CID's to historically privileged white middle or upper class areas.

Some may say this province or City works for you. But, those living in Khayelitsha or Atlantis beg to differ! Are some to the DA more equal than others?

Equally the City delivered some substandard and inhumane levels of services without any consultation, again indicative that this DA government doesn't care about poor black people.

This evidence of disregard and violation of our constitution, basic rights and discrimination is further captured by a number of investigations by amongst others the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).

Let us not forget the open toilets that Cape Town delivered to the poor people of Makhaza! The SAHRC in 2012 confirmed that the DA run City violated the constitutional and human rights of the poor black people by providing those undignified open toilets.

Not to speak about the stinky porta potties! These devices should be banned!

The SAHRC in July 2014 found that Cape Town discriminated against the African people of Khayelitsha. The SAHRC last month said the city "unreasonably" provides chemical toilets as a long-term measure in informal settlements.

The SAHRC again found the city also unreasonably applied emergency housing programme guidelines in situations that were not urgent.

The SAHRC revealed that the City "unreasonably" used "emergency housing" guidelines for informal settlements - often using "basic" and "emergency" sanitation as interchangeable terms. "To conceive of life in informal settlements as equivalent to emergencies, constant state of crisis is a fundamental affront to the dignity of the residents of those areas."

The City should take "significant measures" to reinforce community engagement in sanitation tender processes. It said: "A reasonable programme to realise the rights of basic sanitation must treat all persons affected... with 'care and concern' rather than merely an exercise of statistical compliance or a cold problem-solving endeavour."

On equality, the SAHRC found that the violation of the right to access basic sanitation fell disproportionately on blacks.

The SAHRC recommended new sanitation norms and standards be developed. The NCOP can assist by making sure the national departments play a comprehensive role in this and to bring haste to this vital need.

Most of these communal toilets are extremely unclean, damaged or inaccessible... some not even emptied regularly! Not to speak of being unsafe for women to use - especially after dark!

Furthermore the Western Cape is according to Stats SA the only province where the use of bucket toilets increased!

Equally worrying, all indications are that this same DA will not change its position of not delivering to these communities nor implementing the recommendations of the SAHRC. Instead the DA has resorted to rubbishing the findings of the SAHRC for daring to find against it.

What must be done is that we require direct national intervention through an implementing agent in order that our most vulnerable communities can receive water and sanitation. Our communities cannot continue to be the victims of DA racism and discrimination.

It must also be investigated how the province and metro use the funding they get from national government if they do not render the services as they should!

It must also be investigated how the province and metro use the funding they get from national government if they do not render the services as they should!

It should also be investigated why people are given permission to build in wetlands or waterlogged areas in a province where seasonal flooding pose severe threats!

But most importantly: It should be investigated why in many DA-run municipalities water supplies to residents are unconstitutionally cut!

The relevant ministers and NCOP can help us with all these things!

Issued by the ANC Western Cape, August 26 2014

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