Note to Editors: Please find the attached English soundbite by Refiloe Nt’sekhe MPL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has lodged a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate the non-payment of portable toilet suppliers by the Ekurhuleni Department of Water and Sanitation.
The suppliers have approximately 45,000 units in the informal settlements of Ekurhuleni. Many of them have not been paid for over 210 days, which has made it difficult for them to maintain the toilet facilities. As a result, residents in some areas have reported that their toilets have not been serviced for up to three months. Some residents have even informed the DA that they are seeing worms surfacing in their toilets due to the lack of faeces removal.
This situation has frustrated suppliers who are considering withdrawing their services from Ekurhuleni due to unpaid invoices, which are crippling their businesses. Some have already stopped working. This situation is a clear violation of human rights. The residents of informal settlements are now outraged and feel neglected over the lack of sanitation facilities that have left them with no place to relieve themselves.
The DA has long been advocating for the formalisation of services in informal settlements, many of which have existed for over 15 years. The funds currently spent on basic temporary services could be redirected toward providing proper toilets and infrastructure. However, our calls for this change have been met with a lack of political will. One reason for this may be that some politicians are benefiting from these tenders.
This is unacceptable and represents a serious health hazard that requires urgent attention. Gauteng residents are still recovering from the cholera pandemic and cannot endure another outbreak.
The DA has therefore reached out to the SAHRC to investigate this infringement and hold the government accountable. The people of Ekurhuleni demand answers and urgent solutions to their plight. We have also appealed to the SAHRC to ascertain why it is taking the government so long to formalise services in our informal settlements.
The DA Gauteng provincial government would have prioritised the formalisation of services such as sanitation to ensure that the residents of Gauteng are afforded the dignity they deserve. Additionally, the DA would not have allowed violations of the PFMA Act, which stipulates that service providers should be paid within 30 days.
The DA will actively monitor the investigation’s progress, with the firm belief that it can bring meaningful change for the residents of Ekurhuleni’s informal settlements, who have endured devastating challenges and a lack of support from the government.