Wattville Informal Settlements presenting social audit findings

27 June 2017 – Community representatives from Harry Gwala, Homeseekers and Emlotheni in Wattville, shared their findings of the collaborative social audit conducted on the outsourced sanitation service in the three informal settlements and tabled their recommendations.

In a meeting with the Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality (EMM), Water and Sanitation Directorate, held on 27 June 2017 at the Boksburg Municipal Offices, community representatives presented findings on access, safety, cleaning and servicing, service specifications and made their recommendations.

Findings and recommendations include the following:
o Access – Harry Gwala Informal Settlement: Disabled residents are unable to access the toilets as they were not properly installed. In most instances more than 10 families share one toilet which goes against the municipal sanitation policy of 1:5

Recommendation – The EMM should provide the respective communities with sanitation plan, {short, medium and long term}.

o Safety – Homeseekers: Contractor/s did not clear, excavate and backfill the sites before installing the toilets as per the bid/tender document. The toilets are not safe and some of them have fallen during windy days. Children cannot access the toilets. Some toilets cannot lock from inside.

Recommendation – The EMM to conduct site inspection in all the places were the contractor has not safely installed the chemical toilets. Ensure that the contractor installs locks in all the toilets that do not have them.

o Cleaning and Servicing- Homeseekers: Contractors to provide community leaders with schedule of maintenance and servicing of the chemical toilets. The dis-lurging truck comes at irregular days and times making it difficult to clean the toilets. Contracted cleaners of the toilets must be provided with written contracts, with clear conditions about pay, days and times worked.

Recommendations – included the following: the municipality to enforce schedules of maintenance and cleaning, contractor’s to provide that information to community leaders, municipality to enforce that contractor’s comply with all labour relations provisions of the country.

o Service Specifications – Harry Gwala: Council official/s to inspect the service provided by contractors in accordance with the bid specifications before payment can be processed. The municipality should conduct site visits and consult with community leaders to check if the contractor’s provide satisfactory services to the community.

Recommendations – the municipality should develop effective monitoring system to regularly check if the contractor’s comply with the contract given. Municipality to conduct unannounced site visits to the community to check on the service delivered by the contractors.

o Other recommendations – Emlotheni: Request department of roads to grade the streets to ensure clear access for vacuum trucks, health and hygiene education to be given the priority by the municipality, fault reporting systems to be put in place and a quick turnaround time be implemented.