Dear Editor
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Buffalo City condemns the ongoing humanitarian crisis faced by thousands of residents in informal settlements like Fynbos 1 in East London, who are forced to live without access to basic sanitation.
A recent report from Stats SA has confirmed that approximately 8 000 households in the Buffalo City Metro still rely on the degrading and dangerous bucket system. These figures underscore a failure by the municipality to deliver on the most fundamental of human needs of dignity and sanitation.
Residents in Fynbos 1 continue to live in makeshift bungalows and shacks after their rightful RDP homes were illegally occupied during the failed Fynbos housing project. Despite living there for over a decade, they are still without functioning sanitation infrastructure. Out of 20 communal toilets meant to serve over 300 households, only four are operational. The others are either blocked, vandalised, or left unusable due to a lack of water, forcing residents to defecate in buckets and dispose of waste in nearby drains.
The DA will write to the Buffalo City Mayor and Municipal Manager to demand:
- A comprehensive and transparent plan to eliminate the sanitation backlog in the Buffalo City Metro, with clear timelines and ward-level data.
- An independent audit into the RDP housing allocation process, specifically regarding the Fynbos housing project, to ensure that rightful beneficiaries are urgently accommodated.
- Immediate repairs and servicing of all non-functional communal toilets, with security measures in place to prevent vandalism.
This is an unacceptable state of affairs for any modern municipality. The pace of sanitation delivery is woefully inadequate. The fact that R10 million is being diverted from planned sanitation infrastructure to repair vandalism and an additional R16 million deducted to settle unpaid invoices from the previous financial year reveals systemic mismanagement and disastrous planning by this ANC-led municipality.
While the municipality’s recent report claims that over 6 000 VIP toilets have been delivered since 2017, this provides no comfort to the thousands who are still living without dignity in 2025.
The DA will continue to fight for human rights, dignity, safety, and proper service delivery for all residents of the Buffalo City Metro.
Regards
Leander Kruger MPL
DA Buffalo City Constituency Leader