Wattville Update: A string of good news after social audit findings

4 July 2017 – Following the presentation of social audit findings by the Wattville community leaders, last week, there have been a string of good news for the three informal settlements. On the 27th of June 2017, the leaders met with the Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality (EMM), Water and Sanitation Director, Mr Thokozani Maseko, at the Boksburg Municipal Offices.

Below are some of results following the intervention:

• Three days after the meeting with the Water & Sanitation Director on Friday, 30th June 2017, sixty (60) new portable toilets have been delivered by the contractors to replace the old ones which were not properly installed, unsafe and could not lock in Home Seekers.
• More portable toilets will be delivered by the 6th of July 2017 by the contractors, Sungsung and Moreki to Emlotheni and Harry Gwala.
• Four (4) community members will receive contracts and payslips for the first time in 3 years, as they have been formally employed by the contractors to be janitors. They will receive safety gear and will also be inoculated.
• Workers under the contractors, Sungsung and Moreki, have also been offered formal employment contracts.

From the Water and Sanitation Directorate:

• The Director acknowledged that monitoring by the Municipality is poor, therefore a new Informal Settlement monitoring unit will be established. There are twenty (20) people to be employed under this unit to focus on informal settlements.
• The community leaders were urged to consider re-blocking as shacks are too close to each other which makes the monitoring process difficult.
• A clause on future contracts will be included to ensure that janitors have safety gear and are inoculated.