Waste-filled buckets, blocked and leaking open toilets and people using vacant plots to relieve themselves with nothing but bushes for cover.
These were some of the realities outlined on Wednesday by Makhaza residents at the launch of Human Rights Commission (HRC) national public hearings on water and sanitation.
The hearings came a day after city officials and the HRC visited Makhaza, where residents complained that problems with sanitation persisted, even though the city had largely complied with a court order to enclose 1 316 toilets.
Kayum Ahmed, the chief executive of the HRC, identified “lack of consultation with communities” as a key challenge.
Cameron Jacobs, of the HRC, presented preliminary findings on sanitation in Makhaza in 2011. While the report found that 98 percent of households had access to toilets, Jacobs said “this statistic masked the realities”. Leaking toilets, lack of privacy and protection from the elements and criminals, and large numbers of people forced to share a toilet showed facilities were inadequate.
HRC deputy chairwoman Pregs Govender
said the government had fallen behind on its target of achieving national access to sanitation by 2014.
[email protected] - Cape Argus