STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE MAYOR, ALDERMAN DAN PLATO: REMOVAL OF REMAINING UNENCLOSED TOILETS IN KHAYELITSHA

The City of Cape Town has resolved to temporarily remove the remaining unenclosed toilets in Makhaza, Khayelitsha. As soon as appropriate enclosures have been erected, the toilets will be reinstalled.

The City is committed to meeting its side of the longstanding agreement with the residents to provide each dwelling with a toilet, instead of one toilet for every five dwellings, which is the national norm for the upgrading of informal settlements.

In terms of this agreement, the City provided five times the number of toilets than would otherwise have been available to the community. In 2007 the City negotiated an agreement that residents would contribute to the project, by building enclosures around the toilets themselves. Of the 1316 toilets provided in terms of this agreement, 1265 were properly enclosed by residents fulfilling the terms of this agreement. The remaining 51 remained unenclosed, resulting in subsequent infringement of human dignity and escalating conflict in relation to this matter.

Attempts by the City to enclose the toilets for these residents were thwarted by violence perpetrated by members of the ANC Youth League last week.

We cannot continue with the indignity of unenclosed toilets. It is incumbent on the City to address this situation.

Given that the City is being prevented from building the remaining enclosures, we have resolved to temporarily remove the toilets until appropriate enclosures have been built.

The City has honoured its agreement with the community on the provision of the toilets. In retrospect, the City should have required that the enclosures be built before the toilets were installed. As soon as appropriate enclosures are built, the City will reinstall the toilets.

Statement issued by Communications Department, City of Cape Town, May 31 2010

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