TOILET SCANDAL IN TSAKANE
Incomplete and broken toilets are a major problem for the residents of Tsakane Extension 10 informal settlement in Brakpan on the east rand.
I discovered this on my visit there yesterday as part of the DA's "Don't forget the forgotten" campaign where I visit neglected communities once a month and spend the night in an informal settlement.
I was accompanied by DA Constituency Head Gavin Lewis and DA Councillor Veli Mosehla.
There are about 100 unusable toilets in Ext 10 despite the promises of Ekurhuleni mayor Mondli Gungubele in November last year after an uproar over a contractor who failed to complete 710 out of 1250 toilets there.
Several hundred wash basins attached to the toilets have also not been completed.
According to residents, the contractor appointed to rectify the incomplete job had also failed to finish it.
It's a real scandal as R14.1 million has been spent in total on these toilets. There must be a full investigation into why the contractors failed to deliver, and they should be compelled to rectify all defects.
I saw a number of defective toilets, and also water gushing from a broken tap that according to residents had not been fixed since January this year (pictures available on request).
Other problems I observed in my tour of the area include the following:
- Only three water taps for the 430 shacks in the "wagplek" by Langaville Ext 1 where residents have been waiting since 1996 to be moved from dangerous mineland to a safer area.
- In Geluksdal Ext 3, 750 RDP houses have been illegally occupied for more than two years. It is alleged that they moved in after making payment to an ANC councillor. This is really unfair to those who have been on the waiting list for years.
- Shacks in Tsakane Ext 10 that are near the neighbouring sewage farm are flooded by sewage when it rains.
I stayed the night at Tsakane Ext 10 at the home of Kenneth and Veliswa Manana.
More than 20 000 people live in 6500 shacks in this area. They are really neglected by the council.
A child was recently mauled by the many rats because of inadequate waste removal.
I intend to help Ext 10 residents by starting the installation of solar panels to provide lighting instead of dangerous candles that lead to shack fires.
I will also campaign for residents to get property title deeds so that they own land and are assisted to uplift themselves.
They deserve more than their present neglect.
Statement issued by Jack Bloom MPL, DA Gauteng Caucus Leader, December 12 2012
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