Stench over uncleaned portable toilets in Ekurhuleni gets worse

Little progress has been made in giving residents of Ekurhuleni’s informal settlements dignified ablutions.

Contractors responsible for managing the portable toilets of several informal settlements have gone several months without payment, hampering their ability to maintain hygiene standards.

Pleading for relief, the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday sent a delegation to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to hand over a letter of complaint against the City of Ekurhuleni’s water and sanitation department.

Inhumane waster disposal

The DA contingent included Gauteng provincial leader Solly Msimanga and councillors and activists from the relevant wards.

The servicing of toilets came to a temporary halt in December, resulting in protests at the Windmill and Lindelani informal settlements.

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Unpaid service providers were no longer able to maintain the portable toilets, affecting Thokoza, Daveyton, Tembisa, Germiston, and Boksburg.

“The DA discovered that some residents were emptying their toilets by digging holes in their backyards,” stated the party’s letter to the SAHRC.

“They would use five-litre buckets to collect waste, which was then transferred into a 20-litre container and taken to the hole they had dug,” it continued.

“[We have] residents who have not had serviced toilets, as in faeces not removed from the buckets of those toilets since September,” councillor Mabekenyane Thamahane told SAHRC officials.

Invoices over 210 days in arrears

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the contractors told The Citizen that some service providers had gone unpaid for up to 210 days.

A minimum of 40 000 portable toilets dot informal settlements in Ekurhuleni, with a fleet of trucks needed to dispose and clean the units regularly.

Contractors were instructed by the municipality in December to resubmit any outstanding invoices, with some partially paid.

“Ekurhuleni pays just enough to allow them to resume work, but once services are back up and running, payments are stalled again,” stated the DA.

“It leads to cashflow issues as we have to pay staff wages, chemicals, fuel and other costs. At this point, if the payments aren’t made, the service might end in a week or two,” the contractor told The Citizen.

Infrastructure needed

The municipality has previously stated that there was no backlog and that all invoices were generally paid within 30 days upon proof that the work had been adequately completed.

Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini told The Citizen on Monday that the municipality could not comment on the letter given to the SAHRC as they had not seen the complaint, but would compile a response once received.  

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Meanwhile, Msimanga explained that the informal settlements were almost two decades old and that the solution was not more money for contractors but proper sewer infrastructure in the areas.

“We are not are here to fight the war of contractors, we are here standing for the rights of the people,” said Msimanga outside the SAHRC.

“We are coming to you as an important institution in our society to say that this in an infringement on human rights,” Msimanga pleaded.

He reiterated that the poor payment cycles were straining services, which would heighten anger in affected communities.

“Such an outcome would be catastrophic for the residents of these informal settlements, who depend on these portable toilets,” Msimanga concluded.

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