People Have to Relieve Themselves in Open Fields in This Eastern Cape Town

Women and elderly residents in Centane, Eastern Cape, say they are forced to relieve themselves in open fields near retail stores due to a lack of water and public toilets in the town.

• Residents of Centane, Eastern Cape, have raised concerns about the lack of working public toilets in the town.
• Women and elderly people say they are forced to relieve themselves in open fields near retail stores.
• The Amathole District Municipality says it has an ongoing battle with vandalism at its main boreholes, which affects flush toilets in the town.

The South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) in Centane in the Eastern Cape has raised concerns about the lack of working public toilets in the town. This follows complaints from mostly women and elderly residents who say they’ve had to relieve themselves in open fields near retail stores.

Residents from 49 surrounding villages travel into the town to do their monthly grocery shopping and collect their social grants. The town has only a few flush toilets and pit latrines.

The toilets we were shown at the taxi rank required a R5 access fee. We visited these toilets on two separate days and found them locked with a note stating that there was no water. We saw a number of people relieving themselves in an open field close to Shoprite on both days.

Resident Nosipho May said, “We are only important when government wants us to vote for them, but after elections they forget about us. The wastewater treatment works project was stopped a long time ago. I’m sure we are the only rural town with no toilets. They don’t care about our dignity, whether we like it or not, we are forced to use the open field because the only three toilets we have are always closed due to lack of water.”

The bathrooms at government offices, such as Social Development, Home Affairs, the court house and the police station rely on one septic tank. This is because a wastewater project started by the municipality more than 25 years ago was never completed due to a dispute over land ownership between the municipality and the community.

SANCO secretary Mvuseleli Tonisi said the septic tank fills frequently and the sewage overflows into Mpentse and the Kwankantolo Rivers.

According to Tonisi, villagers from Mgobhozi, Kwankantolo, Gxokwana and other surrounding areas use the river water for cooking and drinking.

Amathole District Municipality acting spokesperson Sisa Msiwa said the municipality has an ongoing battle with vandalism at one of its main boreholes, despite having security at the pump station. She said the resulting inconsistent water supply affects the flush toilets in the town, including the ones at the taxi rank.

Msiwa said municipal officials this week conducted a site inspection in Centane, accompanied by a representative from the Department of Social Development. “The inspection found no visible sewer overflow from the SAPS septic tank into the river. A video record of the inspection was captured as part of the verification process,” she said.

“Our Municipal Health Services team collected a water sample from the Mpetse River as a precautionary measure. We are relieved that no direct contamination has been confirmed, but we continue to take such reports seriously and remain committed to transparent communication and environmental safety.”

Eastern Cape Department of Social Development spokesperson Mzukisi Solani said they recently wrote to Amathole’s district office requesting that waste be urgently pumped out of the septic tank.

In response, Msiwa blamed the delay on the municipality’s vehicle undergoing repairs. “Once it’s operational, the remaining loads will be completed as a matter of urgency,” she said.

Msiwa said the long-term plan is to complete the wastewater treatment project. The cost of completing the project is unclear.

Msiwa said the municipality was preparing a “revised proposal to relocate the wastewater treatment works to a new, technically suitable, site within Centane”.

The public toilets that are out of service in Centane due to water issues.

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