2,000 Households in Katlehong Without Electricity and Clean Toilets

Residents of Palmridge’s Tsietsi Phase 5 and Phase 6 informal settlements in Katlehong marched to the offices of the City of Ekurhuleni on Friday to demand services.

Residents of Palmridge’s Tsietsi Phase 5 and Phase 6 informal settlements in Katlehong are demanding that the City of Ekurhuleni urgently provide services.

Residents say many of them have have lived in these two informal settlements since 1994. The settlements have grown since then and are now home to over 2,000 households. Yet there is no formal electrification, and up to ten families must share one chemical toilet. They say the toilets fill up quickly because they are only cleaned twice a month. Residents rely on illegal connections from a nearby township, for which they pay up to R400 a month.

“Our community has been neglected,” says resident Dan Masango. “I was born in this settlement and am now over 30 years old with three children. I’ve never had electricity, and my children are falling into the same trap. The government needs to remember us and give us services.”

Masango joined scores of community members who marched to the municipality’s offices on Friday afternoon.

Residents say they have held several protests over the years. During a 2015 march, they delivered a memorandum to the same office but to no avail.

A memo to the Ekurhuleni mayor and other officials on Friday, stated: “It is unacceptable that our people continue to live without electricity, proper sanitation, water, housing, waste management, and roads. We call upon your office to act decisively to remedy this historical and systemic deprivation.”

Residents claim that a City official had promised them formal electricity in November 2024 and again in February 2025.

“We further highlight that the electrification of Tsietsi Phase 5 and 6 was included in the 2025/26 IDP budget, as presented during the IDP public participation meeting held at Palmridge Hall on 8 April 2025. There is no financial or legal reason for any further delay,” stated the memo.

Residents say their current sanitation situation is inhumane, with the majority of households still using pit toilets because the chemical toilets from Sanitec are inconsistently serviced.

The community demanded the immediate electrification of Tsietsi Phase 5 and 6 and called for a meeting with City officials by the end of this week. Zinzile Nxesi, from the mayor’s office, signed a memorandum. A team of City officials then visited the settlement.

Questions sent to the City were not answered by the time of publication.

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