Sheffield Rd Meets with City

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Meeting with City officials from the Dept of Informal Settlements – 8^th Dec 09

 

Those present from Sheffield Rd – the 3 members of the appointed committee namely Lisa, Akona and Richard as well as 6 additional members from Sheffield Rd. From the City: Mzwandile Sokupa (Manager of Dept), Gerry Adlard, Natasha Murray, Johan Gerber, Patrick Sandile (Principal Field Officer of the Southern regions), Levona Powell (Manager of all PFOs) and 3 other staff members who arrived shortly after the meeting had begun. From ISN there was Nolwando, Vuyani and Mama Eunice. Andy represented both Ikhayalami and CORC, apologies were submitted on behalf of Buntia and Mzwanele as they had gone to an ISN meeting in Port Elisabeth.

 

The meeting began with people introducing themselves in a friendly manner. A brief overview of the findings of the enumeration was given – the number of shacks in Sheffield Rd are 149, number of shacks enumerated 142, of 142 enumerated 11 households have two families living per shack, the average size of shack is approximately 15sqm etc. The main focus of the meeting was then directed to the more evident issues that effect people on a daily basis in Sheffield rd.

 

The issues that the Sheffield rd members raised related to:

 

·      The number of taps

·      The number of toilets and issues related to the locking of toilets

·      Solid waste removal

·      Electricity

·      Creation of lanes

·      Stronger Zinc structures

 

 We also were able to hear about the City's long term and short term plans with regard to Sheffield rd (this point will be covered in the section detailing matters related to electricity).

 

The map of Sheffield rd was displayed for all to see and was constantly referred to in pinpointing the position of standpipes, toilets, waste removal ‘points’, underground sewers and storm-water drains.

 

Standpipes

Those from Sheffield rd reported that there are 3 working standpipes, which are positioned next to each of the 3 blocks of water bourne toilets. Initially the Municipality provided 2 standpipes per block with one of the standpipes without adequate drainage but with a basin for washing. The community closed these 3 taps as firstly a bucket which all the women use for washing and collecting of water could not be placed under the tap due to the basin and secondly due to the lack of drainage this caused flooding. Johan Gerber confirmed that the information regarding the basin and drainage concerns were accurate.

 

Sheffield rd members said that they are in need of 3 more taps and asked by way of pointing out on the map if they could be placed in other areas in the settlement. They requested this as the 3 existing standpipes are far for the elderly, the sick, the disabled (of which there are two in the settlement) and those returning late at night from late work shifts. Johan Gerber gave various explanations based on the position of the storm water drain as to what was not possible. He was prepared to look into the matter with the community.

 

Toilets

As mentioned briefly there are 3 toilet blocks with 5 water-bourne toilets in each block. The toilet block on the east side has two toilets that are blocked. Gerry said he was upset to hear this as at our previous meeting Managaliso from Water and Sanitation Dept had given out his cell number for any one to call if there were problems or blockages. (At that meeting there had only been one representative for each of the 11 pilot projects). Mangaliso’s number was given out again. According to members at the meeting the toilets are kept clean.

 

Middle toilet block 

The toilet block that is positioned in the middle of the settlement has two toilets that are locked. It is unclear as to how many different family members have access to the two toilets. City representatives said that how the toilets are managed is a community issue; they do recommend however that toilets get locked and that a number of households share one toilet. If the community does not do this or when does do this it is an unfair distribution it is not their responsibility. Those who use the 3 open toilets say that it is unfair, as they often have to wait in a queue while someone else comes along with a key and uses one of the locked toilets. The remaining 3 toilets are kept clean.

 

The toilet block on the east side of the settlement is fraught with tensions. Three of the toilets are locked and used by a shebeen owner. He uses two of the toilets to store things and one of the toilets for the 3 members in his household. Community members have tried in vein to get him to agree to open the toilets for public use. It also seems as if he wields power by force as people have more or less given up on this front.

 

It was agree that Levona Powell will notify law enforcement and they will serve the shebeen owner with an order to open the closed toilets as the toilets belong to the municipality and he is not allowed to use them for personal purposes. They will also look into the status of the shebeen as it was reported that it is illegal.

 

More toilets? 

Community members said that they seriously need more toilets. City officials said that if there was space they could put in an additional 15 toilets thereby doubling the number of toilets, however space is an issue. Community members asked if the three additional blocks could be located in other areas within the settlement. Johan reported that this would not be possible based on the depth of the sewers and the required connections. It was requested that relevant officials from the City go to Sheffield rd to ascertain exactly what was possible in terms of placing the additional 3 blocks. It was agreed that the following day at 2.30pm Johan and Mangaliso (who was not present at this meeting) were to meet community members at Sheffield Rd to assess this. Melvyn and Lusanda were to support the Sheffield rd community in this engagement. In addition matters related to the position of 3 additional taps was to be addressed.

 

Solid waste removal 

According to the residents of Sheffield rd they do not have waste removal for the settlement. They take their black bags across the rd and from there the waste gets collected. They complained that as there is no skip on site the black bags get opened by hungry dogs thereby making the entire area dirty – packets fly in the wind, flies come in their numbers, nappies are strewn across the area and other waste. The City asked from whom do they receive the black bags. They said that every week and sometimes twice a week someone hands them out. This was enough evidence for the City officials to know that a service provider is being paid to collect waste from Sheffield rd. They agreed to look into the matter and also see if skips can be placed across the street from the settlement.

 

Electricity 

People living in Sheffield rd do not have their own electricity connections. Most receive electricity from formal housing behind the settlement. This creates safety concerns as well as additional financial burdens on the residents as they are overcharged for the use of electricity. The officials from the Informal Settlement Dept. said that the provision of electricity is not directly under their jurisdiction and falls under Eskom. If however a settlement is to be in an area for the foreseeable future they can motivate that Eskom install electricity to individual households. If however a settlement were to be moved within 1 to 2 years then Eskom would not be willing to go to such an infrastructural expense.

 

So here comes - the cities pans for Sheffield rd. As we are aware it is part of a road reserve. According to Gerry the City plans to build a main road that goes from the bottom of Sheffield rd into Phillipi and extends all the way east and then Northward towards the R300. He went on to say that these plans have been approved and could go into effect at any stage, however he did not think that this would happen within the next two years as Roads Dept. usually give a two year notice of their plans.  Mzwai reported that it is difficult even for them to get clarity from the Roads Dept. about their plans. They agreed that prior to our next meeting they would do their level best to get some clarity as to how soon this road will be built.

 

A day following the meeting on the 9^th of December Gerry brought to our attention that on the front page of the Argus it says that the Province is not going to build any new roads for 5 years and is delaying building the R300 extension. This means that the people of Sheffield rd are not under immanent threat of eviction. At our next meeting issues related to electrification will be addressed.

Creation of lanes and the building of stronger zinc structures

By the time we got to these two issues the meeting had been going on for a three quarters already. People were getting tired and a sense of wanting closure was in the air. Both issues were intricately linked to how long the settlement would remain and this issue was tied to the building of the road which the City officials had no clarity on at the time of the meeting. It was agreed by all present that the demarcation of lanes and a blocking out exercise would be beneficial to the families of Sheffield rd as was the endorsement of building stronger zinc structures. However the how and with what resources were not touched on in any real way. These initiatives were to be given more focus once the issues related to the building of the road have been resolved.

 

The meeting was closed after 2 hours of focused discussion, consultation and action planning. The next meeting has been scheduled for 21^st of January 2010 at 11am at the Cement Factory.

 

Reflection and planning meeting

The overall sentiment of those who had participated in the meeting from Sheffield rd was that it was a very positive meeting. They were happy to have sat with the officials and spoken face to face about their problems. They were also encouraged that immediate action was being taken with regard to pertinent issues.

 

We held a brief preparation meeting for the meeting scheduled the following day with Johan and Mangaliso. Telephone numbers were exchanged and Melvyn and Lusanda were notified to attend.

 

Meeting on site in Sheffield rd with 2 senior City technicians - 9^th Dec

Mangaliso met with the community at 2.30pm. Johan arrived a bit later. They spent 30 minutes walking through the settlement. There were 15 women and two men from the community that walked around with the city technicians giving input and guidance.

 

Instead of placing standpipes within the settlement the community wanted 3 standpipes to be placed close to the road. This was not agreed upon as the officials said that the Roads Dept. would have a problem with this as it could lead to the flooding of the road. In our next meeting other options need to be looked into.

 

With regard to the placement of 3 new blocks of toilets (with 5 in each block) it was resolved where they will be placed. On the east side a shack will be moved to make way for the toilet block which will be in close proximity to the existing block. In the middle block it was agreed that a shack would be moved and the additional toilets placed right next to the existing block. On the west side there is a cell phone container and it was agreed that this container would be moved to make way for additional toilets. According to reports the families in the two shacks that were identified to be moved have been consulted and have agreed.

 

All those who were present were looking forward to the follow up meeting with the City on the 21^st of January 2010. In addition they are planning a general meeting prior to the meeting with the City.