Members statement by Whitey Jacobs, MPP, Western Cape provincial legislature:

The DA-led City of Cape Town has once more hit a brick wall in the Makhaza open toilet scandal.

By an order of the Western Cape High Court it has to return the toilets it forcefully stole from under poor people as a punitive measure to get back at a small number of people who objected to the construction of temporary shelters and the finding of the Human Rights Commission that the unenclosed toilets are undignified.

The desperate alliance then tried all sorts of tricks, but even its own investigation proved the open toilets to be illegal.

During the hearing the High Court also heard the City is acting on its own and outside of legal prescripts and national policy.

Its excuses were rubbished that the decision would impact on the housing budget and also that it had an agreement with residents. The latter could not be produced.

The City was clearly told that the standard it uses is only permissible with emergency housing and that no open toilet in any way was provided for. The funding for enclosed toilets were adequate, the national department said.

The ANC is anxiously waiting on the City to replace the toilets it removed with jack hammers, and for the court to give its final ruling.

Statement issued by the Western Cape ANC, November 30 2010

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter