Sanitation

Portable flush toilets: What are they and why the fuss?

The public spats over portable toilets have been at the forefront of the news. But what exactly are portable toilets? How do they work? What is good and what is bad about them?

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 12 June 2013

Mayor and SJC clash over toilet facts

Mayor Patricia de Lille held a press conference today to address an unfavourable audit by the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) about the quality of the City's sanitation services in Khayelitsha.

Amelia Earnest

News | 5 June 2013

Battle over Barcelona’s Buckets

Residents of Barcelona informal settlement are living a sanitation nightmare. The company contracted to remove the bucket toilets, Sannicare, has been hit by industrial action and no resolution is in sight.

GroundUp Staff with assistance from Tebello Mzamoand Fergus Turner

News | 29 May 2013

Activist group accuses City of failing to monitor toilet contracts

On 27 April the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) held a meeting in Khayelitsha to report the results of an audit of toilets provided by a supplier contracted to the City of Cape Town. On 10 May the SJC released a written report of the audit's findings.

Fergus Turner

News | 16 May 2013

Responding to criticism

The Democratic Alliance markets itself as an efficient and un-corrupt alternative to the ANC. It never hesitates to point out serious service delivery failures by the ANC. So it is interesting to see its responses to the Social Justice Coalition's criticisms of the City of Cape Town's handling of a major toilet supply contract in Khayelitsha.

Nathan Geffen

News | 30 April 2013

Khayelitsha toilet contractors not delivering

"The toilets are not very good. They are unstable and fall over a lot," says Nomtheto Ndzime, a Khayelitsha resident, about the toilets provided by the City of Cape Town.

Fergus Turner

News | 30 April 2013

Joe Slovo High School toilets still broken

Nearly a year since we told the story of the state of toilets at Joe Slovo High School in Khayelitsha, the toilets remain broken.

Nokubonga Yawa

News | 24 April 2013

Rats, that’s not funny: Khayelitsha child bitten by rat

When Premier Helen Zille was bitten by a rat last week, her spokesperson was quoted saying, “I know the City Bowl rats are mutant freaks of nature but if they’re starting to take nibbles out of people, we’re in trouble." However, as this story of a Khayelitsha baby bitten by a rat shows, in some parts of the City, rats are no laughing matter and rats "taking nibbles out of people" are not that unusual.

Mary-Jane Matsolo

News | 27 March 2013

Toilet mess in Khayelitsha - SJC demands service delivery contracts

The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is demanding access to information on service delivery agreements in Khayelitsha.This follows the breakdown of some outdoor toilets which the organisation fears is a result of the service delivery organisation contracted by the City failing to do its job.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 20 March 2013

Khayelitsha’s rat problem: City’s dumps rubbish next to shacks

Khayelitsha residents have to contend with rat infestations as a result of a City dumping container.

Mary-Jane Matsolo

News | 20 February 2013

Patients without toilets at Tygerberg Hospital

Patients and visitors to one of the Western Cape's biggest referral hospitals, Tygerberg, were recently stranded as most of the toilets especially on the Ground floor and 6th floor were not working and locked. It was extremely difficult to find a toilet to relieve yourself.

Tariro Washinyira

News | 12 December 2012

Du Noon residents complain about flies and smells from toilet cleaning service

Mandla Mncayi lives in Du Noon in Cape Town. He lives in an RDP house and is a street committee member. Mncayi is, like many residents in his area, fed up with the way mobile toilets are collected in his area, which is called Site 5.

Nokubonga Yawa

Brief | 10 October 2012

Has the City’s janitorial service been flushed?

“I have seen no one fixing any toilet. They are blocked right now as we speak.” These are the words of 29-year-old Zoliswa Mampofu, a Khayelitsha resident and mother of two.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 2 October 2012

Activists and politicians argue over violent protests

Several protests in Cape Town's informal settlements have turned violent in recent weeks. Residents, activist groups and the city's political parties are blaming each other for the violence and lack of service delivery.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 8 August 2012

City starts janitorial service in informal settlements

About 200 Social Justice Coalition (SJC) representatives in more than 10 taxis descended outside Cape Town’s Civic Centre on Wednesday afternoon to listen to the long awaited announcement of the launch of the janitorial service.

Mary-Anne Gontsana

News | 17 May 2012

Rats, robbers and foul smells: Life on the Island

Residents of Island in Khayelitsha TR section have been terrorised by rats for more than a decade. Situated between a highway and a blocked drainage canal, the residents also have to deal with the stench that comes from the canal which is infested with mosquitoes.

Mary-Jane Matsolo

News | 20 April 2012