By Johnathan Paoli
Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has found that the City of Cape Town committed maladministration by failing to progressively provide constitutionally mandated basic municipal services to residents of Langa and parts of Khayelitsha, infringing several constitutional rights.
In a report released on Tuesday, Gcaleka said her office had substantiated long-standing complaints relating to housing, sanitation, water, electricity, waste management, public safety and healthcare services following a systemic investigation prompted by complaints received during Public Protector outreach visits to the Western Cape in 2022 and 2023.
“The municipality’s failure to implement reasonable measures within available resources, coupled with its inadequate response to three years of documented service delivery deficiencies despite multiple commitments and undertakings, established a pattern of conduct that falls squarely within the definition of improper conduct,” Gcaleka said.
She said the investigation found the city’s failure to progressively and effectively provide basic services had left residents exposed to unsafe living conditions, poor sanitation and inadequate access to essential municipal services.
“The provision of basic municipal services is not merely an administrative question; it is also a fundamental constitutional obligation that directly impacts the human dignity, safety and well-being of the people of South Africa,” she said.
The report found the city had failed to conclude lease agreements with affected residents in Langa despite charging rent, while ageing sewer infrastructure, structural defects and non-functional fire safety equipment remained unresolved.
Investigators also found inadequate access to water at the Marikana informal settlement, while non-functional high-mast lights had exposed residents to crime and insecurity after dark.
The report further found that the city had relocated some residents without first engaging Eskom to ensure continuity of electricity supply, leaving several families without electricity while engagements with the utility continued.
Healthcare facilities also came under scrutiny, with the Public Protector finding that smoke detectors and CCTV surveillance systems had not been installed at the Mathew Goniwe and Town 2 clinics, placing patients, visitors and staff at unnecessary risk.
The investigation also identified persistent governance failures, including poor enforcement of municipal by-laws, illegal dumping, illegal structures on sewer servitudes and recurring sewer blockages that continued to undermine service delivery.
Gcaleka acknowledged the municipality faced significant challenges, including ageing infrastructure, rapid urbanisation, vandalism, land invasions and financial constraints, but said these could not justify continued violations of residents’ constitutional rights.
“While these financial constraints do not absolve municipalities from their constitutional obligations to progressively realise socio-economic rights within available resources, the persistent service delivery challenges identified raise broader questions regarding whether the existing intergovernmental fiscal framework and equitable allocation of nationally raised revenue sufficiently support municipalities with extensive informal settlements and significant infrastructure backlogs,” she said.
Beyond her findings against the city, Gcaleka called on national government to examine whether municipalities with severe infrastructure backlogs receive adequate financial support.
She called on the ministers of Finance, Human Settlements, and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to assess whether current funding mechanisms sufficiently enable municipalities to meet their constitutional obligations.
Gcaleka also said stronger coordination between all spheres of government was needed to ensure national housing policies better reflected municipal realities.
As part of her binding remedial action, Gcaleka directed Cape Town executive mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to ensure implementation of the report through the Municipal Manager and table it before the Municipal Council within 60 days.
Cape Town municipal manager Lungelo Mbandazayo was ordered to provide water access to Marikana residents within 30 days, submit plans to expand water and sanitation services, complete long-term sewer infrastructure repairs within 120 days and regularise occupation in Langa.
He was also instructed to restore non-functional high-mast lights, engage Eskom on electricity supply for relocated families and install smoke detectors at municipal clinics.
Western Cape MEC for Local Government Anton Bredell was instructed to monitor the city’s compliance with the remedial action on a quarterly basis and consider intervention should substantial non-compliance occur.
Gcaleka also urged all spheres of government to act decisively to uphold constitutional rights.
“We acknowledge the highly complex and often dangerous conditions under which the functionaries of the city operate and thank the city for its cooperation and intervention during the investigation process. However, the fundamental rights to dignity, water, safety and adequate housing cannot be placed on hold indefinitely. The Constitution demands progressive realisation and it demands accountability,” she said.
Gcaleka said she expected the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape provincial government and the relevant national departments to fully implement the remedial action to ensure residents received the services guaranteed under the Constitution.
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