18 March 2025
Zwezwe residents, joined by residents from Newlands and Rivergate informal settlements, blocked Potsdam Road and Malibongwe Drive with burning tyres in protest over their living conditions a few weeks ago. Photo: Peter Luhanga
In Dunoon’s rapidly growing informal settlements, there are not enough toilets to meet demand, and chemical toilets provided by the City of Cape Town are often stolen, moved and sold to residents of other informal settlements.
GroundUp previously reported that in October 2022, toilets were taken from around Dunoon and sold to residents of Newlands informal settlement for between R500 and R800. The “owners” of the toilets are now charging other residents R5 to use them.
Sibongiseni Sibembe lives in the neighbouring informal settlement Zwezwe. He shares a two-room shack with his wife and three children and has lived there since Zwezwe was established in 2019.
Sibembe said because there are not enough toilets in Zwezwe, he goes to Newlands and pays R5 to use the toilet.
“If you have diarrhoea, you have to pay per visit. If we don’t have money, we must cross Malibongwe Drive [to empty land] to relieve ourselves,” said Sibembe.
On 27 February residents of Zwezwe, Newlands and Rivergate informal settlements, blocked Potsdam Road and Malibongwe Drive with burning tyres in protest over their living conditions, including a lack of toilets, drinking water and electricity.
Mayco member for human settlements Carl Pophaim said Zwezwe was on a privately owned wetland, unsuitable for housing. He said the City provides services on the “periphery of the property, where we have access, and on City-owned land”.
Mayco member for water and sanitation Zahid Badroodien said piped water and sanitation could only be provided to Zwezwe with the written consent of the landowner.
There are 77 chemical toilets in Zwezwe, which were moved by residents from other settlements, said Badroodien. The toilets are still being serviced by the City’s contractor, he said. There are no official toilets in Newlands; all the toilets in that settlement were stolen and moved from other areas.
Badroodien said the provision of sufficient sanitation services is impacted by the rapid growth of the informal settlements. He said the basic services team faced ongoing challenges of theft and vandalism of communal toilets.
Water trucks do deliver water to Zwezwe, Badroodien said.
In a statement last week, the City drew attention to alleged extortion at City-provided toilets elsewhere in Cape Town.
“Residents are urged to call the City’s tip-off line to report these incidents, which can be done anonymously,” said Badroodien. The tip-off number is 0800 00 6992 and email is SSIMS.SSIUReporting@capetown.gov.za.