Durban -Residents at Glebelands hostel in uMlazi have praised police stationed at its satellite office for working hard to make the notorious hostel a safer place.
But residents said they still felt unsafe, as eThekwini Municipality had failed to implement access control and improve lighting - mandated by the public protector 11 months ago.
“People are being arrested, the police are doing their job, we are happy with their visibility, we see the difference. But those who are driving the violence are still there; we want safety measures intensified,” resident Simphiwe Duma said.
This emerged during a visit by DA spokesman on human settlements, Solly Malatsi, and police spokesman Zakhele Mbhele.
The report, released by advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane in June, slammed the municipality, saying there was evidence of “tardiness in implementing its own hostel policy” adopted in 1998. The hostel policy of the municipality states that hostels should offer rental accommodation with a “clean, healthy and secure environment”.
Some of the remedial actions recommended were that the eThekwini municipality should compile a database of all people either evicted or displaced from the hostels and, in the event that these residents cannot be returned to their rooms, alternative accommodation be provided to them.
Residents said the eThekwini municipality had failed to deal with overcrowding and that their living conditions were deteriorating.
“Some people who were evicted came back and the overcrowding is worse; roofs damaged by a storm last year have not been restored; refuse has not been collected for the past three months. We are worried about the health of our children who are exposed to this toxic environment,” Duma said.
Malatsi said the DA would consider legal action against the municipality.
“We will be exploring the prospect of laying charges against the eThekwini municipality. The public protector recommendations are binding; any failure to implement them is a violation of the constitution, which makes people criminally liable,” Malatsi said.
Residents wanted answers on why Mkhwebane’s recommendations had not been implemented.
“Taxpayer money was used in the public protector investigation, but nothing she recommended has been done. Why are these issues not being solved? We don’t know who to raise these matters with,” Sibusiso Hlushwa added.
The eThekwini mayor’s spokesperson, Mthunzi Gumede, said a team had been put in place to deal with improving living conditions and safety matters. “The team is on the ground, the work is ongoing. We will not only be implementing public protector recommendations, but solving many other problems to ensure better living conditions for residents,” Gumede said.