South Africa: Khayelitsha Families Have to Use Buckets As Toilets Again

What the report says

Residents of YB section in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, are again struggling with a vandalised communal toilet block that has left some families using buckets and dumping waste in nearby stormwater drains, according to GroundUp as published by AllAfrica. The report says the ablution facility is filthy and unusable, with blocked and overflowing toilets, missing doors and cisterns, and waste spread across the site.

The City of Cape Town said the block had been vandalised and that there had been delays in hiring replacement janitors. City officials told the outlet that the area has 338 households and 51 full-flush toilets in total, including 10 in the damaged block, and that residents should use other full-flush toilets elsewhere in the settlement. The city is also considering chemical toilets as a temporary measure, depending on budget availability.

Residents described worsening conditions around the block, including stagnant water, rubbish and sanitation waste near where children play. One local janitor said the facility had not been properly cleaned for months and that repairs inside were still needed. Another resident said the situation had become unsafe and unpleasant, especially because the toilets had no doors or locks.

The report highlights a wider sanitation and maintenance problem in the settlement, where residents say conditions deteriorated after security guards were removed and earlier cleaning contracts ended.