Water, hygiene improved in BCM

Many Buffalo City Municipality informal settlements have benefited from water and sanitation measures under Covid-19.

That is according to the results of an SMS survey conducted by East London-based NPO Afesis-corplan.

The #Asivekelane (Let’s Protect Each Other) survey is conducted on a bi-weekly basis.

Afesis-corplan programme officer Vusi Gqomose said they partnered with the International Budget Partnership SA and six other NGOs to gauge informal settlements’ access to adequate basic services.

“The lockdown regulations flaunted by government weren’t realistic in informal settlements where hygienically, the environment in these areas is inhumane, with one communal tap being shared by 50 households and one toilet seat shared by 10 households,” Gqomose said.

Afesis-corplan has been advocating for equitable access to basic services in informal settlement communities around BCM for more than 20 years.

“Initially we determined through our own research and intelligence used by bodies like the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and other government departments to use this information to identify which areas are hotspots in BCM.”

The informal settlements include Duncan Village, East Bank, Cambridge Location, Nompumelelo, Orange Grove, Amalinda Forest, Mdantsane, Bhisho, Scenery Park and Mzamomhle.

“These are the communities we started with. We soon extended the survey to more informal settlements and now we’re about to include Dice, Muvhango and many more,” Gqomose said.

Survey results from July 29 show that:

● 90% or more respondents said “yes” to having enough water;

● Between 75% and 90% of respondents said “yes” to toilets being cleaned; and

● Between 60% and 75% of respondents said “yes” to waste being collected.

The survey results suggest broken and dirty toilets have been repaired and cleaned, additional toilets are being built in Mzamomhle in Gonubie and standpipes were installed in Scenery Park.

In terms of sanitation, key results stated include:

● Toilet cleaners received personal protective equipment (PPE) for the first time from the municipality;

● Communities that had not received black refuse bags in three years received them in June; and

● 94.66% of respondents reported receiving clean water regularly over two months.

BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said they welcomed the study results, which would assist in their responses to communities.

“New toilets and taps were installed while broken ones were repaired in some areas. BCM is acknowledging the survey and we’re using it as a dashboard to respond swiftly to service delivery issues in informal settlements,” Ngwenya said.

“We have procured over 10,000 face cloths and are supplying surgical masks. I think that in the beginning of Covid19 we were purchasing to ensure that everyone was protected and issues of monitoring usage and understanding the needs were not tightened.

“We are now getting and distributing PPEs to our staff consistently, and we are making sure that line managers are responsible. We also want employees to be accountable and take care of products that we issue them so that we avoid wastage,” Ngwenya said.

BCM has more than 156 informal settlements.

BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya said they welcomed the study results, which would assist in their responses to communities