Marikana residents clean settlement
MEMBERS of the Social Justice Coalition and the residents of the Marikana informal settlement in Philippi East got their hands dirty when they cleaned up their surroundings.
Rubbish in the area had not been collected since August. The residents have occupied the area since 2012but have not had a dedicated refuse removal service from the City of Cape Town as other communities do.
While digging a hole with a spade, Simphiwe Matiwane, a community member said the residents were taking it upon themselves to clean up their area. “These conditions are unhealthy for the community. Children are getting sick and it has become unhygienic for members who live close by to even open the windows.
“Most of the children who are from this area are getting a rash or illnesses.
“Since 2014 we have been trying to reach the City of Cape Town, this place has been up since 2012 but until now we have not been getting the basic services such as black bags or rubbish containers to throw away the garbage,” said Matiwane.
“We are not saying they (City of Cape Town) must come and work, because we know how lazy they are, all they need to do is supply rubbish containers to grab these rubbish bags. We are making it easier for them by working as a community to clean this area, with the help of the Social Justice Coalition and the Right2Know campaign,” said Matiwane.
The Social Justice Coalition organised a group of people from around the area and from Khayelitsha to assist the Marikana informal settlement.
Axolile Notywala, the head of Local Government Programme for the Social Justice Coalition said, “The City of Cape Town should be providing the necessary services.
“This act of cleaning up has also been a mission to bring the community together.
“The community, even before we came here, have been raising these issues.
“Even though this is private land, it is still within the boundaries of the city.
“These people have settled here and it is permanent. So as their human right, they should be provided with the basic services. We should pave a way forward so this does not happen again,” said Notywala.