Mtungwa v Ekurhuleni Municipality
Securing water and sanitation services for informal
settlements in the East Rand
Langaville
•Ekurhuleni Municipality, Tsakane
•Langaville part of RDP extensions
•Informal settlement of 3600 residents
•Three settlements- extension 18 (108
shacks, no water supply), extension 3
(184 shacks, 1 water point), extension
6 (1016 shacks, 1 working water point)
•Different levels of formality
•Extremely poor-most earning under
R1000 per household per month
•Low education
•Limited services (either governmental
or NGO)
Access to services in Langaville
• Water
– Standpipes provided by the
municipality
– ‘illegal’ taps
– Begging from local RDP
houses
– Extreme shortage
• Sanitation
– No provision by the
municipalityinformal/begging
• Electricity
– No provision by the
municipality-informal
connections
The impacts of limited access to
services
• Taps
– Long queues at taps
– Difficult for those who are
employed to queue
– Most residents live more than
200m away-up to 1km
– Insufficient flow rate
– Have to push water over
difficult terrain to get back
• Begging
– Have to come at certain times
– Have to pay
• Lack of electricity
– Safety from crime
– Fires
• Lack of water
– Can rarely afford enough water
to wash
– When not enough water can’t
cook basic staples-pap and
vegetables. Spend more money
on food or have pap pancakes
– HIV/AIDS-difficulty with taking
medicine
– Can’t wash hands after toilet
• Lack of toilets
– Use pit latrines next to shacks
– Unhealthy: attracts vermin,
flies, and disease
– Sometimes pay to use RDP
toilets or go in the bushes
Applicable legislation and regulationsWater
• S27 (1)(b) of the Constitution
– Everyone has the right to have
access to sufficient water
• R3 of the National Regulations
– Sufficient connections to
supply a minimum quantity of
potable water of 25 litres per
person per day or 6 kl per
household per month
– At a minimum flow rate of not
less than 10 litres per minute
– Within 200m of each of the
resident’s households
– With an effectiveness such that
the residents are not without a
water supply for more than 7
full days in any year
• Water Services Act
– s1 Basic water supply means
the prescribed minimum
standard of water supply
services necessary for the
reliable supply of a sufficient
quality and quantity of water
to households, including
informal households, to
support life and personal
hygiene
– S3 Everyone has a right of
access to basic water supply
Applicable legislation and regulationsSanitation
• R2 of the National
Regulations
– The minimum standard for
basic sanitation services is
a toilet which is safe,
reliable, environmentally
sound, easy to keep clean,
provides privacy and
protection against the
weather, is well ventilated,
keeps smells to a minimum
and prevents entry and exit
of flies and other diseasecarrying pests
• Water Services Act
– S1 Basic Sanitation means
the prescribed minimum
standard of services
necessary for the safe,
hygienic and adequate
collection, removal,
disposal or purification of
human excreta, domestic
waste water and sewerage
from households, including
informal households.
– S3 Everyone has a right of
access to basic sanitation
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
Indigent Policy
•
•
S6- indigent person- a person
lacking the necessities of life such
as sufficient water, basic sanitation,
refuse removal, health care,
housing, environmental health,
supply of basic energy, food and
clothing
S8 –policy must be accessible to all
qualifying residents, implying that
currently unregulated
settlements...must be brought into
the municipal system so that such
residents are not excluded.
• Problems
– S14-relief is provided by way of
credit to an existing municipal
account
– S11-housholds that are not
registered with the
municipality as consumers of
services are precluded from
receiving support
– S10-support is to residents of
the municipality who are
unable to pay their municipal
accounts.
– Practical implementation
• Authorised settlements only
• Working through a councillor;
community problems with
councillor Nditha
Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality
Interim Services Report
• Interim services report
– Accepts that informal
settlements must be included
in basic sanitation and water
at least as a temporary
measure
– Municipality undertakes to
implement a water standpipe
within 200m of each
household, or if not possible,
by means of water tankers.
Agrees that this can be
increased
– 1 chemical toilet per 10
families, where health
problems are associated with
pit latrines
Strategy-enforcement and
implementation, not challenge
• Interim services report
could constitute compliance
with the regulations
• Government commitment
to provision
• Community concerns
– Happy with standard laid out
in interim services report.
– Cf electricity
• Mazibuko
– the difficulties of challenging
policy regarding water and
sanitation
• The indigency policy
– Reserved the right to amend
the notice of motion to seek
to declare the policy
unconstitutional and invalid
– Reliance on the regulations
• Electricity
– community concerns v
litigation imperatives
Collaboration
Difficulties
• Community committees
• Information gathering
– Indigency Policies
– Interim services report
– Extent of settlement
• Extensions 3, 18 and 6
– Extent of problem
• Number of taps
• Whereabouts of taps
– Community structure
• Splitting up the
community
Settlement?
• Settlement v litigation
• Municipality willingness to
settle
• Impact of litigation on
enforcement discussions
• Current offer:
– 2 standpipes in ext 18
– 2 standpipes in extension 3
and refurbishment of existing
standpipe
– 6 standpipes in nondeveloped part of extension 6
– 7 (subject to confirmation)
standpipes in developed part
of extension 6
– Thereby ensuring a water
supply of sufficient quality
within 200 m of each
resident’s household
– 1 chemical toilet per 10
families
Lessons
• Collaboration
– With TAC
– With government
• Caution
– With community
leadership
– With on the ground
descriptions
• Enforcement of policies
• Issues with indigent
policies