DA in Victor Khanye Municipality claims squatters are subject to inhumane conditions
“Toilets and empty water tanks do not meet the basic services to the residents of Mimosa and other informal settlements.”
The Victor Khanye Local Municipality (VKLM) has more than 10 informal settlements. These include areas such as Mimosa, Nkanini, Mandela, Mawag, Delpark, Dryden Farm, Savanna and Delmas Coal.
According to Diane Bath, the DA caucus leader in VKLM, the party has called upon the municipal manager, Thabo Mashabela, to provide the Section 79 committee with a progress report on the municipality’s informal settlements intervention.
According to Bath, the VKLM previously confirmed they had plans to assist these communities with basic service delivery and substantiated it in the municipality’s financial reports.
Bath said the DA recently embarked on an oversight visit to the Mimosa informal settlement in Eloff, where more than 600 shacks have been erected.
“We discovered a project of toilets for each household was currently underway. However, this has been marred by political conflicts. Mimosa is a DA ward.”
Bath claimed DA members in this community have been victimised and somehow excluded from this project.
“Only a few households with connections have benefitted from the toilets project in this area.”
Bath said a major concern to note was the ANC-led VKLM brought back undignified and degrading bucket toilets to some households.
“On the other hand, the water tanks are empty. According to the residents in Mimosa, the tanks are not filled regularly. Over the years, the municipality has failed to ensure the improvement of the water supply in Mimosa, so that it can cater for all residents”.
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Bath said the DA condemns this form of service delivery in the VKLM community.
“These toilets and empty water tanks do not meet basic services to the residents of Mimosa and other informal settlements. Meanwhile, it is alleged that some individuals are selling stands with prices ranging from R7 000 to R10 000.
“We will not allow the current administration to trample on the rights of these residents,” Bath concluded.
Streeknuus sent an email on February 13 to the municipal manager’s office, requesting a comment.
No comment was received at the time of going to press on Wednesday morning. The newspaper will publish VKLM’s comment in the following edition.
