An emotional Khayelitsha resident, Phumeza Somdaka, looking at the hole caused by the sewer spill near her home.
The Public Protector has found that the City of Cape Town failed to progressively provide basic municipal services to residents of Langa Flats and parts of Khayelitsha, concluding that years of shortcomings in housing, sanitation, water access and public infrastructure amounted to maladministration and improper prejudice.
Deputy Public Protector Advocate Dinkie Dube released the findings in Report No. 12 of 2026/27 during a media briefing in Cape Town on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, following a systemic investigation prompted by complaints residents raised during the Public Protector South Africa's outreach visits to the Western Cape in 2022 and 2023.
"The provision of basic municipal services is not merely an administrative function, it is also a fundamental constitutional obligation that directly impacts the human dignity, safety and well-being of the people of South Africa," Dube said.
She urged the City to extend similar attention to other historically disadvantaged communities.
