Open toilets temporarily removed in Khayelitsha

By Khanyisa Tabata
31 May 2010

Cape Town mayor Dan Plato says he 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.

Plato says 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.

Earlier today police fired rubber bullets at protesting residents after they burned barricades because City of Cape Town workers destroyed temporary structures around toilets in the area.

Plato’s spokesperson Rulleska Singh 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.

“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,” said Singh.

Singh added that they 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,” said Singh.