Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu residents have accused the City of “failing” to fulfil its constitutional mandate after their refuse had not been collected in more than a month.
Imizamo Yethu community activist Amanda Thethi said flies and rats were rife, and posed a health hazard to children and the elderly.
“Nothing is good. Trash is right in front of the shack and we live with young children. The entire July we have been living like this and another street was even closed due to the rubbish. Drains are a mess and sewerages are also overflowing. They just come to take pictures and disappear into the night, we never see any change.”
Thethi said she had previously engaged urban mobility mayco member Rob Quintas, who promised that refuse would be removed in two days.
“This is a massive threat and violation of our right to life and dignity as the dogs and horses live in better conditions than the poor and working class of Hout Bay,” she said.
Hangberg resident and chairperson of the ANC Johnson Mayeki branch, Roscoe Jacobs, said the City has been “failing to effectively and timeously” remove refuse from the informal areas since the end of its financial year.
“The reason for this seems to be that the project is no longer running and no locals are employed to work as before. We strongly condemn the DA-led City for failing to fulfil its constitutional mandate as per Section 156(1)(a) of the Constitution.
We therefore demand the immediate removal of refuse and sweeping of streets on a weekly basis in Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu.
“We further demand ward councillor Rob Quintas to facilitate a meeting with the department of solid waste with us and the community to facilitate a more inclusive waste management plan for Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu informal settlements, which will also seek to push public education in this regard so residents better understand their role in keep our communities clean,” he said.
In response to the residents’ concerns, the City said it was working to ensure the refuse was collected in all affected areas.
Spokesperson for the City, Luthando Tyhalibongo, said: “City teams are extending their internal resources to also service the areas normally done by contractors. In addition, teams are still in the process of clearing the backlog resulting from the recent taxi strike’s impact on City services.”
Cape Times