Mayor Patricia De Lille today claimed that the City of Cape Town’s provision of sanitation services to informal settlements has been ‘vindicated’ by the outcome of an appeal to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
This is false and misleading.
The original report found that the City’s provision of temporary sanitation services, with no long term plan, is racially discriminatory, and infringes on the rights to equality and dignity of Cape Town’s informal settlement residents.
The SAHRC Chairperson has not made any findings on the merits of the report, or on the merits of the appeal. Adv Mushwana has simply granted the appeal and referred the report back to the SAHRC Western Cape Provincial office for reinvestigation.
We challenge the mayor to bring her lawyers and experience the daily indignity and insecurity of using a toilet in this city.
Rather than providing decent, adequate and acceptable sanitation for poor and working class residents in Cape Town, the City has chosen to spend another year fighting procedural battles.
No amount of legal filibustering will convince residents of this city otherwise, who simply ask for a plan for decent sanitation. Is this too much to ask, Mayor?
For comment:
Axolile Notywala
0743861584
Dustin Kramer
0836740552
