Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Cape council probes decision on open toilets

The city of Cape Town is to launch an investigation to find out which official was responsible for agreeing to building toilets without enclosures in Makhaza, with one councillor calling for disciplinary steps to be taken against the official.

City manager Achmat Ebrahim has ordered his officials to investigate after receiving a complaint from mayoral committee member for social development Grant Pascoe.

Pascoe wrote that the decision not to enclose the toilets and to leave it to the residents was unlawful.

"As you're aware, during 2007 a decision was taken to build toilets without enclosures in Makhaza section of Khayelitsha. According to information at hand, this was done in consultation with the community who allegedly agreed to build their own enclosures in exchange for a greater number of toilets than would otherwise have been built by the City of Cape Town," Pascoe said.

However, a number of residents reneged on the agreement and failed to build enclosures, Pascoe wrote.

"In January this year, the perceived failure by the city to build the enclosures was widely reported in the media, and is reportedly being investigated by the SAHRC (South African Human Rights Commission).

"It has come to my attention that the city's decision to build toilets without proper enclosures was unlawful," Pascoe said.

He quoted Section 9, of the Water Services Act, which states that "the minimum standard for basic sanitation services is a toilet which is safe, reliable, environmentally sound, easy to keep clean, provides privacy and protection against the weather".

"These actions have prejudiced the administration and are tantamount to negligence. It has brought the city into disrepute. I therefore request that an investigation into the decision and circumstances surrounding this decision be launched, followed by consequential disciplinary action."

- Cape Times

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