February 2016
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DUNOON | JOE SLOVO PARK | WOLVERIVIER | KWA 5 | KILLARNEY GARDENS | MONTAGUE GARDENS | MILNERTON | TABLE VIEW | WITSAND
Living in sewage S
ewage from blocked toilets flows between shacks in Ethembeni informal settlement in Dunoon near Milnerton where thousands of people are having to live in extremely unhealthy, squalid conditions. Combined with overcrowding and a lack of sanitary facilities, the conditions are ripe for the spread of disease in the informal settlement. In addition to overflowing sewage, the shipping containers, placed behind the rows of communal toilets, in which refuse is stored, are a breeding ground for rats which irate residents say are terrorising them by eating everything and anything, including nibbling at babies’ feet during the night. During a visit to the informal settlement Isolabantu saw blocked toilets overflowing with sewage which spilled out past a standpipe where residents collect water for drinking and cooking. A number of residents displayed rashes and wounds which they said were a result of the unhealthy living conditions. “We are very frustrated. Back home in the Eastern Cape our families say we are in Cape Town living a good healthy life but we live in raw sewage. Shit is piling up in the blocked toilets all the time and when they come to clean they only clean
outside and do not unblock the toilets,” said Lindiwe Dumbo (40), a mother of three children. Zukiswa Wayi, a wife and mother of three children, lives in a shack downhill from the communal toilets and says the sewage overflow runs past her home constantly and the smell is unbearable. “Our bodies have developed itchy rashes. Because the toilets are full some residents shit in buckets then drain the shit outside the toilets near the water tap,” said Wayi. “Enough is enough,” she said. Wayi and fellow residents who gathered outside the toilets to detail the filthy living conditions threatened to boycott the upcoming local government elections as they see no benefit in voting when service delivery is almost non existent in their area. They claimed they started reporting the problem to the City in October last year and the issue has still not been addressed. During the course of the interview, women could be seen tip toeing through sewage to collect water from the standpipe and a vendor could be seen plucking chickens right behind the filthy toilets. The appalling smell was omnipresent. “We’re sharing our food with rats. They invade our homes after stepping on sewage and eat our food which we later eat as well,” said Dumbo. Dumbo, who served some time in Pollsmoor Prison for assaulting her boyfriend and was released in October last year, said living conditions were better in Pollsmoor. continued on page 3
A blocked flush toilet that people continue to use in its state at Ethembeni squatter camp in Dunoon near Milnerton. Photo. Peter Luhanga