We checked 470 toilets in this Cape Town informal settlement. Only 45 were working

GroundUp recently examined 470 communal toilets in the Marikana informal settlement of Philippi East, Cape Town. Only 45 toilets were functional. Over 4,000 families inhabit the settlement, according to local leaders. Community leader Loyiso Nkqitiza explained that for over eight years, residents have had to use bushes or portable flush toilets supplied by the city.

The portable toilets provide no privacy in the one-room shacks and most residents favor communal toilets outside their homes. However, many communal toilets lack doors, have doors but no toilet bowls, or have neither. Only 45 toilets in the settlement are usable. Nkqitiza lamented the lack of privacy due to the absence of doors and the delays in servicing the existing toilets.

She added that children, women, and the elderly often avoid using the toilets, especially at night, due to safety concerns. Nkqitiza questioned why they continue to persistently request assistance from the City of Cape Town. The City of Cape Town's mayco member for water and sanitation, Zahid Badroodien, revealed there are 451 communal toilets and 1,625 portable flush toilets in the settlement.

He stated that 105 communal toilets are missing doors and the city is actively replacing them. Badroodien assured that cleaning services are not disrupted. However, during the visit, GroundUp counted 470 communal toilets, and only 45 were operational. In one section of the settlement, housing around 800 families, only one out of six toilet blocks was functional.

The settlement was established in 2012, but it has been shrinking due to crime and lack of services, according to Nkqitiza. Now, only desperate individuals remain in the settlement.