Claiming that municipal officials are not making good on promises, they blame the municipality for causing conflict among the residents who are unwilling to work out a system that will allow them to share the provided toilet facilities. The toilets, which the Knysna Municipality says are meant to bring temporary relief, have instead become the source of grave frustration. The Hlalani community threaten violent action if their demands aren't met.
"We were promised 150 toilets, but they only built 103," explains Anele Vani, one of the community spokespersons. "Because only some of us got toilets, this led to arguments because households have to share toilets. Some children are making a mess, and who is going to clean the toilets? If we cannot all have toilets, then we don't want any toilets. We will all rather go back to using the bush. They [Knysna Municipality] must come take back these 'rubbish' built toilets. We don't want them."
According to the Knysna Municipality, the budget for the contract was R8 680 131 for a total of 504 toilets throughout the Knysna municipal area. Work started on July 30, 2012 and the contractor claimed to be have completed the work on November 12 of the same year.
Vani says that the community feel the toilets are poorly built and that they cannot understand how pipes could run past certain homes or through someone's yard, yet those homes would had no toilet. The toilet would be placed further down the line. He says the Hlalani community has had numerous meetings with municipal officials and they are well aware of the complaints and the community's frustration and unhappiness with the situation.
"After we had been complaining for a long time, they sent the contractors back to fix some of the toilets, but it was a quick job and not properly done. Some of the toilets are not even on a cement slab and when it rains, the ground washes away. It stinks and is unhygienic."
Knysna Municipality responds
According to the Knysna Municipality the toilets built in Hlalani are a temporary measure. The municipality is currently busy with the planning of a full upgrade of the Hlalani area and it is planned that those people who qualify for subsidised houses should have houses built for them by 2015. Others who do not qualify for subsidised houses will have services provided to their sites.
The toilets that have been built were built in terms of the national and provincial governments' Access to Basic Services programmes. These programmes are governed by central government policy which established a standard for basic services as one toilet per five households. The municipality went out to tender in 2013 to appoint a contractor to construct toilets in all the areas in Sedgefield and Knysna. Altogether, 504 of the toilets were constructed in terms of this programme.
All relevant people involved in this project are aware of the current situation of the toilets. Toilets will be unlocked once they are completed and ready to be used.
In a gesture of goodwill to the Hlalani community, and based on the argument that the services to be installed will be part of the upgrade of the area that is already in the planning phase, the municipality agreed to deviate from national policy of one toilet per five households and to stretch the budget as far as was possible.
"The community asked for 150 toilets," explains Waring. "In practice this has been impossible. The budget received from government could not provide more than 103 toilets. This is one toilet per two to three families."
The project has also had to extend the existing sewer and water networks into the Hlalani area, construct two new sewage pump stations and upgrade certain bulk sewers, to be able to service the temporary toilets. This was planned and executed to fit in with the full upgrade of Hlalani.
The municipality went through the prescribed supply chain management procedures and appointed the international consulting engineering company SSI, now Royal Haskoning DHV, to design the system and to supervise the construction. Inyani Civil Works and Plant Hire was appointed to undertake the work.
"The contract has not gone smoothly and the municipality has been in constant liaison with the consultants, community and the contractors to try to get the work properly finished. The retention monies have not yet been paid to the contractor," said Waring.
The municipality, she said, will ensure that the work has been completed to standard and that the keys are handed over to members of the community who take responsibility for them.
"[The Knysna Municipality] is committed to doing as much as it can to alleviate the plight of the most disadvantaged residents in the area. It is limited by budget and by national government-determined policies and procedures. It cannot be intimidated by threats of violent and unlawful activity to act in a way that would be illegal, contrary to policy or contrary to the interests of the broader community."
The contractor responds
Speaking in his personal capacity and not on behalf of Inyani Civil Works and Plant Hire, Christopher Cocks, who worked on the project, said that the number of 504 toilets is incorrect.
"The engineers, in consultation with the municipality, made many changes to the contract on an ongoing basis and in fact in some instances plans were not even available prior to construction beginning. At no time did we claim to be finished on November 12, 2012."
Cocks feels that the Knysna Municipality may possibly claim that the project has not been accepted as complete due to third party contractors' incomplete work, "There are a number of different contractors on site. The construction phase, as far as the contractor's contract is concerned, was completed some time ago. Saying the work was not 'properly' finished, is a misnomer as the toilets are assembled from a kit and can only be erected and fitted out accordingly. All toilets handed over to the community were fully functional."
The retention monies, he says, is usually held for a year and this is standard practice for a contract of this nature.
"All keys have been handed to the various communities who in some cases have been using the toilets for over 18 months. A number of toilets have been vandalised and equipment stolen and in many instances completely demolished. The contractor was also subject to many instances of community-inspired interference and threats of violence against the workers and plant on site, which further exacerbated the completion of the project. Toilets were signed off as accepted by the community and [understood by all to be] an interim solution until permanent structures are erected."
Vani agrees that he heard that one of the community members had the keys to the toilets, but he doesn't know why that individual hasn't shared the keys with everyone else.
Hlalani community spokesperson, Anele Vani (right) with Esther Moos at one of the locked toilets which the residents want the Knysna Municipality to 'take back", because, they say, not enough toilets have been supplied and they are also poorly built.
ARTICLE: ANOESCHKA VON MECK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
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