After concerns that were raised over the reportedly small number of toilets being used by hundreds of Zandspruit residents were refuted by the MMC of Environment and Infrastructure, some residents believe that not enough is being done to see to their needs.
MMC Mpho Moerane rejected claims made by the Democratic Alliance’s Ward 100 and 114 PR councillor Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, saying that there were 24 toilets available for Zandspriuit residents in the Silvertown area, not the four initially claimed by her.
Deputy Director in the office of the MMC Stan Itshegetseng said, “The informal settlement has 24 chemical toilets and eight water tanks servicing 149 households which were provided by Johannesburg Water (long before the escalation letter sent to my office). The number of chemical toilets and water tanks provided, works out to less than the 1:7 ratio which is the norm.
“After receipt of a letter from the Democratic Alliance’s councillor Nicole Van Dyk, which in any case coincided with our programme to increase chemical toilets in the informal settlements, Joburg Water delivered 10 more toilets to Silvertown informal settlement which has since brought the total number of toilets in the area to 24 and thus further reducing the ratio as mentioned above.”
A concerned resident, who does not wish to be named, took the Randburg Sun on a tour of the area on 15 May to investigate the problem in the Silvertown area of Zandspruit. He said, “I have been living here since 2007 and the issue of toilets has always been there. This area used to be private property with its sewage system. When shacks started to be built, hundreds of households had to use the one drain pipe.
“We as a community have been trying for a long time to get proper infrastructure installed, and more temporary toilets installed in the meantime. We have received no help, and while there are toilets available, they are shared by too many people. In the time of the coronavirus, this is very worrying.”
The Randburg Sun saw that there were indeed temporary toilets available for residents to use, but some sections of the Silvertown area had no toilets nearby to them, with residents having to resort to using toilets hundreds of metres away from them.
Joburg Water’s Isaac Dhludhlu confirmed what was said by the MMC’s office saying, “There are currently 149 households, which amounts plus-minus 600 people. We have 24 chemical toilets and eight water tanks in the area supplying water.
“The toilets are cleaned three times a week and water-filled at least twice a day. At this point, we feel that that is sufficient as we have other areas that have fewer services that we currently need to prioritise. We have also contacted the ward councillor at the time to speak to him and he does not have issues in the Silvertown area.”
