SA trapped in inequality, poverty and injustice

The Big Read: The brutal murder of Andries Tatane by police during a protest against lack of access to water in Ficksburg is symbolic of the inequality, poverty and injustice that continues to haunt most people living in South Africa today.

Tatane's death has hit a nerve. It has illustrated once again that South Africans are becoming increasingly aggravated and disheartened by the slow pace of delivery to historically disadvantaged communities.

It has also illustrated the increasing willingness of the state to silence dissent when voices are raised.

Tomorrow we commemorate Freedom Day, marking 17 years since millions queued to vote in our country's first democratic elections. Political leaders across all levels of government will deliver speeches heaving with statistics celebrating how much has been achieved in their constituency. But those statistics will be little consolation to the millions who continue to live in abject poverty.

No sphere of government is more responsible for basic service delivery and the development of participatory democracy than local government. Building active citizenship and accountability must begin here.

The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) is a community movement working to do this in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. There, as in most sprawling townships, many residents continue to live without the most basic of services. It is hard to imagine any service more basic than access to clean and safe toilets and water, yet they remain luxuries for many.

The danger generated by the lack of access to sanitation services manifests itself in many ways. The poor state of toilets and water services results in a high prevalence of waterborne diseases, parasites and gastroenteritis of infectious origin. Personal hygiene becomes impossible if the environment is permanently dangerous and unhygienic.

In addition to health risks, lack of adequate sanitation renders residents far more vulnerable to crime. People are routinely robbed, assaulted, raped and murdered walking long distances to the nearest functioning toilet.

The failure to provide adequate sanitation services and, indeed, many other basic services to these communities, has a primary source: the failure of municipalities to recognise so-called "illegal" and "informal" settlements as communities that, given the housing backlog, will be with us for many years. As a result, municipalities fail in their constitutional duty to plan, provide for and deliver basic sanitation to communities most in need.

In Khayelitsha, where one toilet can be shared by upwards of 100 people, there are no plans for the routine maintenance and monitoring of sanitation services. Instead, the focus is on relocation. Though housing must be the ultimate objective, local governments have an explicit duty to provide basic sanitation to informal settlements in accordance with the Water Services Act.

Recent research by Water Dialogues concluded that 500000 Capetonians do not have access to basic sanitation.

As city residents, we have every right to hold our government accountable in meeting its obligations, particularly when such a crucial service is concerned.

The City of Cape Town and Western Cape's governing Democratic Alliance recently acknowledged that sanitation "is not simply another function of modern local government but, historically and in principle, the very core reason for its existence". We hope that this means our municipality will refrain from being evasive of its responsibility and commit itself to ensuring that access to this fundamental right is prioritised and progressively realised.

Freedom Day is an opportunity to reflect on the freedoms, rights and duties we enjoy today. These are not exhausted in the voting booth. The toil of democracy comes with consistently and patiently working to ensure that the government meets its obligations. We owe this not only to our many predecessors who died struggling for these rights, but to Andries Tatane and the countless others who continue to die waiting for the most basic of services.

• Gavin Silber is policy co-ordinator, and Mandla Majola campaigns co-ordinator, of the SCJ.