CPT welcomes SAHRC’s ruling on sanitation services

Jaimie-faith Poonah
06 March 2015

The City of Cape Town has welcomed the ruling by the South African Human Rights Commission on the sanitation services the city provides to informal settlement.

The Social Justice Coalition conducted a week-long audit on non-flush toilets in four settlements in Cape Town.

Fieldworkers audited 256 toilets and interviewed residents about their experiences and found that half the toilets were in an unusable condition.

The city appealed against a decision by the provincial HRC last year on the matter and now the SAHRC has upheld the appeal.
 
Mayor Patricia de Lille Spokesperson Zara Nicholson said in the provincial HRC made a number of allegations regarding on how the City of Cape Town provides sanitation services. Further more it has conducted investigations into the complaint which was originally laid by the social SJC in a manner that was procedurally improper.

Nicholson said the city disputed the findings immediately inlight of the fact that as a metro authority where as a nation leading record of sanitation provision for all areas of the city, including informal settlements. While we respect the role of chapter 9 institution we might be allowed to participate in their work in a manner that is free from prejudice.

Meanwhile the Social Justice Coalition has challenged the Mayor Patricia de Lille and her lawyers to experience the daily indignity and insecurity of using a toilet in the city.

SJC’s Axolile Notywala said the Mayor’s statement that the city has been vindicated by the outcome of the appeal to the commission is false and misleading.

Notywala said that is exactly the opposite of what the decision of appeal of the HRC report was saying; there was many saying that these procedural issues with the report and that it must be sent back to the Western Cape provincial office to be reinvestigated.

"We are saying that the issues are still there, the issues of the lack of proper sanitation services are still there in informal settlements" Notywala added.

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