The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Lephalale Municipality will write to Mayor Aaron Mokgetle to intervene in the ongoing sanitation crisis in Mahlakung and to hold officials responsible for the sanitation failure.
Lack of a sustained supply of water to the five long awaited toilets installed in the Mahlakung informal settlement has now become a sanitation nightmare for residents. (See photos here, here and here)
While the recent installation of the infrastructure was long overdue, the failure by the municipality to ensure a functioning water supply has rendered these toilets unusable, unsanitary and a disgrace for the municipality.
Residents, with no alternative, continue to utilise the facilities under appalling and degrading conditions.
The impact on residents is immediate and unacceptable:
- Increased risk of disease outbreaks,
- Unsafe and unhygienic living conditions,
- Continued violation of human dignity.
Despite engagement by the DA, the municipality has taken no meaningful action to resolve the issue which is indicative of a lack of planning, coordination, and accountability in delivering basic services to the community.
The municipality cannot continue to claim the installation of toilets that cannot be utilised safely and with dignity as a success, infrastructure without water is not service delivery – it is negligence.
Residents of Mahlakung deserve more than incomplete projects and empty promises, they deserve functional service delivery which does not compromise dignity.