Well before the sun rises, Yonelisa Mali gets up, wakes her three young children, and rubs Vaseline all over their bodies.
It is the only way to protect them from the early morning cold that seeps through the thin walls of their tiny one-room shack on the slopes of Imizamo Yethu , high above the harbour in Hout Bay.
The Daily Struggle
Barefoot, and sometimes wading through sewage, the asthmatic 39-year-old carries two empty 20-litre plastic paint containers to the communal taps 450 metres away , where she fills them.
Then she carries them back, heavy and full, so her children can wash, eat, and drink.
This daily routine has defined her life for the past two years.
The MPAC Report
The visit follows the tabling of the City of Cape Town’s Municipal Public Accounts Committee (MPAC) report , which found that the metro had failed to provide or maintain adequate toilets, taps, or refuse removal in Imizamo Yethu.
“The city did not provide or maintain adequate toilets, taps, or solid-waste services in Imizamo Yethu, and illegal connections were not removed,” the report said.
“As a result, the area experienced frequent sewer and stormwater overflows, pollution of stormwater systems and nearby rivers, severe environmental and public-health nuisances, and non-compliance with WSA and NEMA.”
The Root Cause
On root cause, the report said: “Project managers did not execute their project management responsibilities” , including monitoring whether contractors performed in terms of their contracts and enforcing corrective action in a timely manner.
The Toilets
A row of blue portable toilets lined the road. It is the only toilets available to residents. There are no toilets at home. Each unit is locked and allocated by community leaders, shared between families.
The Housing Crisis
Some houses were built without approved building plans. Others were handed over without the required NHBRC sign-off.
Row upon row of unfinished brick shells stood abandonedno roofs, no windows, no doors. Walls rose to varying heights and then simply stopped.
Vissershok Landfill
About 27km away, at the Vissershok Landfill Site , a large containment pond of deep pink liquid came into view.
The pink colour comes from leachate the toxic liquid that forms when rainwater filters through layers of rotting landfill waste.
The plant responsible for treating leachate has been out of operation since June 2022 . The city has been forced to truck the liquid to Borcherds Quarry, costing ratepayers R29.5 million in transport and operational expenses.
The Community’s Plea
Loyiso Skoti , chair of the Imizamo Yethu Development Forum, said residents need sustainable jobs, not short-term EPWP work. He said water and sanitation cut-offs inconvenience residents.
“People need decent houses, which the city has for many years failed to build for the people of Imizamo Yethu. But there is hope that houses will be built.”
The City’s Response
The City of Cape Town said: “The city is a responsive organisation and where highlighted corrective measures are implemented as a matter of course to ensure internal controls remain sufficient.”
The Scene
During IOL’s visit, electricity cables hung haphazardly overhead, garbage lay strewn across the ground, and a foul odour clung to the air. Sewage spurted from an open manhole in the middle of the road.
A hawker selling fruit opposite said the problem had been going on for weeks.
“It affects us very much. We do phone the city and they do come out, I do not want to lie, but after two or three days it is the same thing again. They do not fix it properly.”
The Bottom Line
Barefoot, wading through sewage, carrying 40 litres of water 450 metresevery single day.
That is life in Imizamo Yethu.
The MPAC report exposed the failures. The city says it will fix them.
But for Yonelisa Mali and her children, tomorrow will be the same as today.
