SAHRC 'slates' City of Cape Town over Khayalitsha sanitation saga

Warning:

This article may contain graphic and/or adult content unsuitable for minors and sensitive readers.

Read the article

The SA Human Rights Commission has found that the City of Cape Town's "long-term use of temporary sanitation facilities and lack of a plan for sanitation delivery in the city, violated the rights of residents of Cape Town's poor and working class communities."

According to the 71-page report, the Commission also found that the City of Cape Town also "unfairly racially discriminated against black African people in the city."

It has instructed the City to develop a comprehensive plan for sanitation within six months in four areas of Khaylitsha, for which complaints had been laid by the Social Justice Coalition.

The organisation says the Human Rights Commission's recommendations "are a victory for residents of informal settlements, both in Cape Town and across South Africa."

It says the investigation resulted from a complaint by the SJC, following its social audit on 'Mshengu' chemical toilets - an outsourced service for which the City paid over R100m between 2010 and 2013.

Zara Nicholson, the spokesperson for Cape Town mayor, Patricia de Lille, said they only received the report on Tuesday.

"We are currently in the process of studying its contents. Our initial impression is that we have serious reservations about many of the findings and we intend to appeal the recommendations contained in the report," she said.