Residents live in squalor at Kya Sand settlement
KYA SAND – Residents believe the City has neglected them and are failing to address the issue of chemical toilets.
Residents of Kya Sand informal settlement are living under severe conditions with poor service delivery from the City of Johannesburg.
This is according to the community leader, Nyauza Nongwevu who said he was the presiding officer of the settlement body corporate.
He complained that they have been neglected for the last three years and could only hope for better service as they endure living in squalor.
This problem has escalated over the past three years with poor cleaning and drainage of chemical toilets.
“Johannesburg Water only sends one truck to drain our toilets. This area is big for one truck to regularly clean these toilets. They should at least add another truck,” he said.
Nongwevu alleged that the driver of the truck, which drains waste, was bypassing other streets and prioritising a few residents who allegedly paid a bribe.
He said they were depriving them of their basic rights.
“The City must listen to us! The driver prefers his people and we had heard they were bribing him,” he said.
The entity’s spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene said they serviced the chemical toilets in the settlement up to three times a week.
She said they have in the past three years increased the frequency of servicing these toilets per week to ensure they were cleaner.
“We also employ inspectors to ensure that the chemical toilets are serviced and cleaned three times per week,” she said.
Chuene added that a container ablution block, connected to the sewer system, has been constructed and will be operational as soon as the negotiations with the community regarding employment have been concluded and chemical toilets will then be removed.
“There are instances where demand for service increases and we try by all means possible to cater for that. There are no records of a reported incident of accepting bribery by our contracted service providers,” she said.
The City’s entity also urged members of the public to report misconduct by a contractor to them through local councillors and the City of Johannesburg’s Tip-Offs Anonymous hotline.
“They should, if possible, provide the driver’s name or the registration number of the vehicle and action will immediately be taken,” she said.
Details: Johannesburg Water, 011 688 1400; City of Johannesburg’s Tip-Offs Anonymous Hotline, 0800 002587, SMS: 32840 or email anticorruption@tip-offs.com
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