Cape Town - More than 300 residents in informal settlements have listed Ekurhuleni Municipality at the top when it comes to service delivery and Cape Town in second place, according to the Asivikelane Service Delivery Index (SDI) released this month.
Asivikelane is an initiative that gives a voice to informal settlement residents.
Its service delivery index was calculated from the delivery of water, sanitation and refuse removal in informal settlements in each metro, based on data collected from surveys conducted with residents in 343 informal settlements across the country.
Ekurhuleni stands at the top for good performance in providing access to water, draining and cleaning of toilets, and refuse removal services.
Across the metros, the average index was 51%.
Ekurhuleni, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Tshwane did better than the average, while Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay, eThekwini and Buffalo City were the worst, according to the data collected.
“Though the index shows that some metros performed better than others, even an SDI score of 100% would not mean residents were living in a dignified or desirable situation.
“Access to water often only meant receiving water from a truck a few times a week, and access to sanitation only the use of a communal chemical toilet that is cleaned once or twice per week,” according to Asivikelane.
The organisation said while availability of services were improving in several metros, several issues remained with regard to the quality and functionality of services.
City of Cape Town spokesperson, Luthando Tyhalibongo, said the City had budgeted R36 million for new taps and toilets for informal settlements for the 2022/23 financial year.
“This is in addition to services already provided to ensure that its objective of delivering clean, reliable water and dignified sanitation services to all residents is achieved.
“For area cleansing services in 2022/23, R274.9 million is for servicing of informal settlements specifically and R784m to provide door-to-door waste collection and area cleansing in informal settlements over three years,” Tyhalibongo said.
ANC leader of the opposition, Cameron Dugmore, said the City of Cape Town has failed to actually spend its capital budget and the national grant “for upgrading informal settlements has shown neglect of the poor and homeless”.
“It would be interesting to know whether interviews took place in each of the more than 100 informal settlements in the province.
“We need the City and Province to commit to spending a much greater part of their own resources in these communities. The fact that the DA has no land release strategy contributes to informal settlements that are not properly serviced.
“On the other hand the city continues with evictions and a homeless policy which criminalises the poor of the city. The City is also not taking sufficient steps to support backyard dwellers and the owners who are renting out space,” he said.
DA Western Cape spokesperson on Human Settlements Matlhodi Maseko said one of the difficulties local governments encounter is the dynamics of land invasions in communities.
“Most recently, it was reported by the Western Cape Department of Infrastructure that over R5 billion in housing developments had been halted because of issues including community dynamics, which make it difficult for cities and the province to complete crucial projects on schedule,” said Maseko.
Cape Times