This great city, which boasts a R52.6 billion budget, spends a fortune fighting against the poor.
In a packed courtroom, with people clogging aisles, sitting on the floor or leaning against walls, informal settlers on Monday listened to City of Johannesburg (CoJ) lawyers explaining why basic services have not been provided in Protea South.
The long-running High Court case affects all Johannesburg’s 242 informal settlements, home to hundreds of thousands of people. For their champion, DA Cllr Maureen Mnisi, the scene was familiar. Since she first brought an application in 2008, she has seen CoJ lawyers evade several court orders.
In March last year, the court said the CoJ “is constitutionally and statutorily obliged” to provide: communal water taps within 200 metres of each household; one chemical toilet per household; and high-mast lighting.
Imagine, if you can, Highveld life without these basics. Through the media, Mnisi has invited Mayor Parks Tau spend a dark night in a shack that has no toilet and no easy access to water.
The 2008 case arose because the City wanted to demolish shacks and move people. Dolomite was cited as a reason for forced removals. Dolomite can indeed cause problems. The mineral is linked to sinkholes, subsidence, catastrophic collapse, and structural damage to buildings.
About 25% of Gauteng is underlain by dolomite, whose presence is not, by itself, enough to warrant forced removal. Factors to be taken into account include the amount of dolomite, depth, surrounding geological make-up, proximity to other buildings, and so on.
Under 2012 rules known as SA National Standards (SANS) 1936, the City is compelled to start dolomite testing all over again. Just as in other dealings with Protea South, the City is delaying. It is not appealing against court orders, nor refusing to provide services. Some services exist, but not nearly enough for the 6000-plus households.
The City has also been faulted for lack of consultation with affected communities. People don’t enjoy being shoved around without proper communication. Nor do they like the uncertainty engendered by City’s legal gimmicks.
In what may be a breakthrough, both sides this week agreed that the delivery of services, and the re-testing for dolomite, will be "case-managed". There will be regular, detailed progress reports to the court. If this is a victory for Protea South, and for all Johannesburg’s informal settlements, it will be another triumph for Mnisi, a former chair of the Landless People’s Movement. Justice at last for the poor? Perhaps.
If the pattern is repeated, if the City seeks loopholes, while failing to provide taps, toilets and lighting, injustice will be compounded.
While the City uses ratepayers' money to fight against the poor, the victims depend on the goodwill of outsiders; in this case attorney Moray Hathorn and colleagues from Webber Wentzel’s pro bono division. Money wasted on the City’s legal fees could probably have provided the services required.
The City’s indifference to the plight of the poor is not surprising. During a weekend National General Council, the delusional, fat-cat leadership of the governing party displayed a similar failure to appreciate how far they have removed themselves from the struggle for a better life for all. Change is coming, led by people who care. #
Documents are accessible via the links below:.
Mnisi court application Oct 1, 2013
Mnisi court order SANS 1936, March 31, 2014
Mnisi media statement, March 26, 2015
Martin Williams is a DA councillor. This article first appeared in The Citizen.
