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Residents of several informal settlements in the City of Ekurhuleni will spend Christmas without toilets if the government continues not to pay service providers.
Sources within the municipality confirmed that the bucket system toilets had not been drained since April, while in some areas the service halted in October due non payment of services providers.
The affected areas include Thokoza, Daveyton, Tembisa, Germiston and Boksburg.
Sibongile Phama from Vusimuzi informal settlement in Tembisa said the service providers had been on a go-slow since April.
In October, they stopped working, forcing community members to dump waste in their yards, Phama said.
“The situation is horrible because we are now forced to dig holes in our yards and put the dirt and cover with soil. When we inquire, we are told that the government did not pay those responsible to drain the toilets. How are we going to enjoy Christmas without toilets?” asked Phama.
“We are so frustrated and worried because some people are dumping stuff on the street, local dumping sites and in the undergrowth where children play. This poses a health hazard. We are appealing to our government to attend to this problem as soon as possible.”
Vusimuzi community leader Zekhina Lekalakala said they had reported the matter to their councillor and the municipality, but nothing was done.
“The government must do something because we can’t continue like this. It is unacceptable as we are going to contract diseases. The toilets were drained every Thursday, but now every individual must make a plan. Just imagine without toilets in a festive season,” said Lekalakala.
Last week, frustrated residents of Windmill and Lindelani informal settlements took to the streets, blocking roads and burning toilets and tyres.
One service provider, who declined to be named, confirmed that the City of Ekurhuleni owed various service providers more than R100 million.
“It is true that most of the companies did not receive payments for so many months. We have been working without payments for a long time and they keep on telling us lies.
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“What makes it so much worse is that the service providers employ hundreds of people out of these settlements to assist in cleaning the toilets after we have pumped the waste,” said the irate service provider.
He said more than 20 service providers were affected and there were five whose accounts were in arrears of 240 days.
Currently, he said, there were about 20 000 toilets that were not being serviced because of arrears in payments.
Refiloe N’tsheke, a DA member in the Gauteng Legislature, called on the municipality to pay the companies so they can start working before Christmas.
“Residents approached us for assistance three months ago, shockingly a few days ago they telephoned us again complaining about the same problem.
“We are calling on the municipality to attend to this matter so that people can start using their toilets again.
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“We do not need a situation whereby families spend Christmas without toilets.”
City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said: “The City was made aware of two service providers that could not service toilets according to the current agreement of weekly service due to cashflow issues at this stage.
“The city is not aware of any delays from the other 21 service providers servicing other informal settlements at this stage.”
He added: “We will need to get the latest statements from service providers in order to verify the amount and determine where the problem could be so that it is resolved and services are restored accordingly.
“We do apologise for the inconvenience caused to the affected communities and we endeavour to render quality services to all our communities at all times.”
Dlamini said the municipality had set aside R500 million at the beginning of the month to address outstanding payments.
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