De Lille broke promise, say residents

A YEAR after the City of Cape Town promised to provide basic services for Sweet Home Farm in Philippi, residents say they have yet to get electricity, an adequate water supply and sanitation.

Yesterday, about 150 people from Sweet Home marched from Keizersgracht to mayor Patricia de Lille’s office, demanding housing, sanitation, electricity and water.

In their memorandum, they said they wanted the city to engage with residents about service delivery. The city had said it could not provide services to the settlement because it was on private land. The property was transferred to the city last year. After an inspection in the informal settlement, officials said the city would provide basic services.

Abahlali baseMjondolo’s provincial chairman, Siyamboleka James, who lives at Sweet Home, said residents had numerous meetings with De Lille in October and December. He said that at the October meeting, they were told electricity would be provided between January and last month.

“It is now August and they have not started with anything. They didn’t keep their promises,” James said. “We want the mayor to go to the community and address them about what is happening with what they promised. To the community it is as if we, as the leaders, are misleading them.”

De Lille’s spokesman, Solly Malatsi, said the mayor had public meetings with the residents in December and on March 6 to discuss service delivery.

The city had appointed a contractor to electrify the area, but a contractual dispute had delayed the process.

“The planning phase has been completed,” Malatsi said.

“The city is now trying to resolve this dispute as a matter of urgency so that we can proceed with our plans to provide electricity to 1 200 households in Sweet Home during this financial year.”