Current Projects : 2015 – 2020

The settlement has been in existence since the mid-1980’s, and is currently home to about 8000 households.

Planact has been engaging with this community for more than 10 years. The community is currently faced with issues on security of tenure, sanitation and water. Furthermore, there is a growing sinkhole in the settlement due to a dolomitic ground. Planact has conducted a social audit on sanitation with the Thembelihle Crisis Committee as a partner as well as a needs assessment.

Leadership skill development and community economic and capacity building workshops are some of the interventions that Planact is assisting the settlement with. Leaders in Thembelihle have been empowered to tackle community challenges confidently.

neighbouring Daveyton in the City of Ekurhuleni in Gauteng. There are about 109 households in Shamase Ground. Residents of Shamase have been living there for about 11 years. The community is challenged with shack congestion and some of the burning service deliver issues include the installation of electricity, provision of dustbins for waste removal and houses.

Planact contacted the local ward councillor to work in the area. Twenty community volunteers were trained to start a social audit in May 2018. Residents are using the social audit skills acquired from this project to tackle other service delivery issues in the area.

It has about 1000 households. The settlement is faced with high crime rate, lack of proper sanitation and water, lack of proper roads infrastructure.

Planact was initially introduced to the area by Councillor Mabaso who saw the opportunity as an important tool for development in the Etwatwa wards. Planact engaged with the leaders of the area by inviting them to learn about the social audit methodology which they would use to gather empirical evidence to their service delivery challenges.

It has about 800 households  occupying mainly the municipal land. Service delivery issues such as refuse removal, no electricity, inadequate sanitation and water are prevalent. Planact was then invited by councillor Sibiya in 2015 to provide support to the ward committee and community leaders.

Activity plans were created by Planact for different sectors/portfolios to enable the Councillor to monitor the work done by ward committees and other community leaders. A precinct plan was also developed with the aim of making it a one stop shop. A social audit into sanitation was also conducted

through meetings with the chairperson of the committee.  The chairperson later introduced Planact to the broader committee. There are officially 409 households in Ekuthuleni informal settlement and people have lived there for over 25 years. The area was named Ekuthuleni as a call for peace, given that the period was marred with violence between hostel dwellers and township residents. Chemical toilets used for sanitation in the area are posing as a health hazard for women and children. Planact intervened by conducting a social audit on sanitation.

with structures built from leftovers bricks by construction companies which threw them away in the nearby bushes. The core challenge that Vlakplaas experiences is poor sanitation and pitch darkness after dusk. The area uses chemical toilets, which are all placed outside the residents’ yards. Each toilet is shared by approximately 10-15 households. There is only one contractor servicing these toilets and it has hired only two cleaners from the area, with each of them responsible for cleaning sixty-eight chemical toilets. Planact introduced a social audit which was community led and supported by the leadership structure of the community.

in Plastic View, which was later renamed Freedom Square. Winnie Mandela informal settlement has been in existence for over 24 years. Planact was introduced to this settlement through the Ekurhuleni Concerned Residents Association (ECRA).  The late Winnie Mandela visited the place and promised that it would be upgraded. Currently, the community consist of an upgraded part and shacks in other sections. This is one of the areas where a scaled up social audit on sanitation has been conducted and positive results are expected.

It is made up of 300 households, with the population over 800-1200 inhabitants. The settlement was previously owned by a white farmer. After he relocated in 2004, some families occupied the area.

Planact first met with the leaders of Railway in February 2018, to propose a tried and tested methodology to tackle their sanitation service delivery issues. The area is provided with two types of toilets, type A which is a container with two compartments designed for males and females and type B which is portable chemical toilets. The social audit on sanitation has initiated participatory governance of the area as municipal officials interact with leaders as and when required.

According to residents, Tsakane was established in the early 1960 due to segregation movement.

After Langaville was identified as a possible site to conduct a social audit, Planact approached a community leader who facilitated conversations with the Ward councillor. Unfortunately, the community leader has passed on and was not able to continue with leaving the mark he had initiated in Langaville.

Sanitation is the biggest challenge in Langaville. The chemical toilets that are being used are not well-installed, they have undesirable odour as compared to the pit latrines and contractors of these toilets do not follow tender specifications as agreed on the tender document. The City of Ekurhuleni has accepted recommendations made by  Tsakane residents.