Monday, October 11, 2010

Open toilet saga in Cape Town postponed

An application involving the so-called Makhaza open toilet saga in Cape Town has been postponed in the Western Cape High Court.

Residents of Makhaza in the township of Khayelitsha would like the court to compel the City of Cape Town to abide by the Human Rights Commission’s finding that it should rebuild 51 toilets removed earlier this year and enclose them.

The council removed the toilets after corrugated iron enclosures around the facilities were vandalised by a small group of residents who demanded they be given concrete enclosures.

City spokesperson Kylie Hatton said they were happy to abide by the HRC’s findings but it had implications, which is why the city applied to have two national ministers involved in the application.

“The minister for Human Settlements and the Minister for Water Affairs both need to play a role in this particular court case because your ruling has implications not just for this particular project in Makhaza, not just for Cape Town but for the national housing code,” she added.

Hatton said the city’s application to have the ministers named as co-respondents would be heard on October 19.

The residents’ application to enforce the HRC finding has been postponed to November 24.

- Eyewitness News

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