Metro municipalities are tabling their 2021-2022 budgets and none of the metros have set aside funds specifically

for the maintenance of informal settlement infrastructure where over five million of the total population live. The

result is that heavily used taps and toilets are not fixed when they break and refuse is not collected when it piles up.

The 2021/22 budgets also show no growth in allocations for the ad hoc provision of communal taps and toilets. The

metros are still relying on large multi-year informal settlement upgrading projects for providing additional taps and

toilets but these projects do not respond to the short-term need for basic services as some residents have been

promised upgrading almost 10 years ago.

This is why metro traffic lights don’t turn green (see traffic light attached). When metro water and sanitation

departments run out of money for maintenance and for new taps and toilets, green traffic lights turn red. And the

large upgrading projects implemented by metro human settlements departments are slow to deliver. Asivikelane

16 reports many examples of the delivery of new taps and toilets, repairs to these services, improved toilet cleaning

and better waste collection in several communities. But overall, the situation remains dire as not a single municipality

scored a green light in Asivikelane 16.

This month the hotspots were in the City of eThekwini and Buffalo City Metro where residents reported blocked

and broken toilets. In line with the lack of short-term provision of services, there are still residents in Cape Town,

Johannesburg, Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung who report that they don’t have access to

water at all.

Refuse removal also remains in crisis. Residents from all metros and non-metros report that some settlements do

not receive any refuse removal services, or the service is irregular. In Johannesburg, eThekwini, Buffalo City

and Nelson Mandela Bay, many residents do not receive plastic refuse bags although all these metros claim to be

providing bags. For example, residents from Briardene, George Hill, Cato-Crest and Khenana in eThekwini report

that they have not had refuse removed for more than three weeks.

GOOD NEWS

• eThekwini again leads the way in responsiveness. Broken taps and toilets were fixed in seven settlements,

new taps or water pipes were installed in two settlements, while toilets were delivered to two communities.

• Still in eThekwini, residents from two settlements report improved refuse collection while three settlements

received refuse bags.

• Ekurhuleni has delivered 20 new chemical toilets to Winnie Mandela and increased the number of workers

cleaning the dumpsites in that settlement. Two other settlements reported more frequent toilet cleaning.

• After several months of crisis, Emalahleni’s traffic light for access to water improved from red to light

orange, with residents from three settlements reporting improved water delivery by water trucks.

• In Cape Town, taps were fixed in UT Gardens, while residents in four other settlements report regular toilet

cleaning and waste removal. The delivery of water also improved in Mzamomhle.

• In Buffalo City, residents in three settlements report better maintenance of taps and toilets, while more

toilets were delivered to two settlements. Waste collection improved in Duncan Village.

• In Area 11 Gunguluza in Nelson Mandela Bay, eight water tanks were installed, and elsewhere in the ward

a road was tarred and 500 temporary structures built.

• In Tshwane, the settlement of Kameeldrift has been cleaned and residents from Phomolong report

improved water delivery.

• In Johannesburg, residents in Tjovito report that the water truck now delivers water to the settlement

three times a day, while dumping sites were cleaned in Lawley. In Greater Kliptown individual stands were

connected to the electricity grid. Residents in two settlements report improved draining of their toilets.

Asivikelane receives responses from 998 residents from 227 settlements in the following municipalities City of

Johannesburg, City of Ekurhuleni, Buffalo City Metro, City of eThekwini, City of Cape Town, Nelson Mandela

Bay, Mossel Bay, Witzenberg, Knysna, Umsunduzi, Emfuleni, Cederberg and eMalahleni – by answering four

access to basic services questions in a survey format:

• Was there enough water for all residents in your settlement, in the last 7 days?

• Did the municipality clean your toilet in the last 7 days?

• Was waste collected in your settlement in the last 7 days?

Asivikelane is a campaign initiated by partners International Budget Partnership-South Africa (IBP-SA), Planact,

Afesis-corplan, South Africa SDI Alliance, Development Action Group (DAG), Social Justice Coalition (SJC),

1to1, Luthando OVC, Letsema La Sechaba, Abahlali baseMjondolo and other organizations whose aim it is to

help informal settlement residents to monitor the delivery of services themselves and begin a dialogue with

government to ensure scarce public money goes to those who need it most, and is spent efficiently.

998 residents from 227 settlements participated in this round. Detailed results and comments from residents

themselves are available at: www.asivikelane.org.za