Human rights are down the toilet in Khayelitsha

25 February 2016 - 02:47 By Jerome Cornelius

Flies buzz and the stench of faeces fills the air as a truck arrives to service toilets in Khayelitsha.The Cape Town township was visited yesterday by SA Human Rights Commission chairman Lawrence Mushwana, joined by members of the Social Justice Coalition and NGO Ndifuna Ukwazi.The visit was part of a five-day trip to the Western Cape by HRC representatives after a rash of complaints about racism, police brutality and inadequate housing.The group moved through the narrow alleys of the township, which is home to about 400000 people.Sanitation and safety were said to be at the top of their list of priorities.The blue communal toilets, known as "Mshengus" after the company that supplies them, were a concern of the group. The toilets are locked and the key-holder is often not present when the servicing truck arrives. Ventilation pipes are often broken.In one section of the township one bucket toilet is shared by 10 people.Resident Andile Satu said: "It's smelly all the time. When you eat, you drop the food. When the wind blows, the whole place smells. "Mushwana described the visit as "depressing" and said the distance residents had to walk in the dark to use a toilet was worrying."It's the indignity they have to face, not to mention the danger."We're here to issue a report and to interact with the municipality, but it can't be the municipality alone," he said.Mayoral spokesman Pierrine Leukes said the planned budget for water and sanitation services for informal settlements for 2015-2016 was R503.7-million."This does not include money spent on backbone and bulk infrastructure to support the whole city, including informal residents."Leukes said a Water Affairs survey had found that informal settlements in Cape Town had 100% access to adequate sanitation, compared to a national average of only 43%...

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