Cape Town - Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille was upbeat on Wednesday about improving the living conditions of residents in informal settlements, her office said.
“As part of our commitment to redress, and to creating a caring and inclusive city, the City of Cape Town has prioritised a massive allocation of resources to improve living conditions in informal settlements,” city spokesman Solly Malatsi said in a statement.
The city's spending was geared towards the poor and this was reflected in the way the budget had been structured, he said.
“This commitment to service provision is demonstrated in our budget breakdowns over the past six financial years.”
He said: “In terms of electricity provision, since 2006/07 we have increased our budget by approximately 287 percent. This year, an estimated budget of R292 million has been budgeted for electricity provision to informal settlements.”
Malatsi said the city's budget had steadily improved since 2006/07, by about 278 percent.
This year, about R292m had been budgeted for electricity provision to informal settlements, he said.
The budgets for water and sanitation, and the provision of solid waste management had also increased.
The number of toilets provided in informal settlements had increased from 14,591 to around 40,296 since 2006, said Malatsi.
A number of incidents in which protesters dumped human waste around the city were reported last month.
Malatsi conceded there were a number of informal settlements still in need of services.
“Despite this large-scale investment, there are certain informal settlements in the city where we cannot provide certain service types due to prevailing local conditions,” he said.
Sapa