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The public protector (PP) has found that the City of Cape Town failed to provide basic municipal services to residents of Langa Flats and Khayelitsha, concluding that the municipality’s conduct amounted to maladministration and improper conduct in breach of its constitutional and statutory obligations.Its report was released on Tuesday after an investigation prompted by complaints received during the public protector’s annual roadshows in 2022 and 2023.Residents complained of persistent sewage overflows, deteriorating roads, inadequate maintenance of municipal infrastructure, poor waste collection, the absence of lease agreements for residents of Langa Flats, inadequate water and sanitation services, poor communication from the city and underresourced local clinics.The PP investigated whether the city was providing basic municipal services progressively and effectively as required by the constitution and municipal legislation. Watch: RECORDED | Public protector media briefing on Cape Town investigationsIt concluded the allegations were substantiated and the city had failed to meet its constitutional obligations.In Langa Flats, the report finds the city failed to conclude written lease agreements with all residents despite expecting them to pay monthly rent.The PP found this contravened the Rental Housing Act, undermined residents’ security of tenure and impeded the progressive realisation of the constitutional right to adequate housing.The investigation also finds the city did not fully repair sewer infrastructure serving Langa Flats. Damaged sewer infrastructure, cracked housing walls, broken fire hose reels and extinguishers, as well as poorly maintained communal areas, continue to expose residents to unsafe and unhealthy living conditions. The report finds these failures violated residents’ constitutional rights to an environment that is not harmful to their health and wellbeing, as well as their rights to life, dignity and adequate housing.In the SST-Marikana informal settlement in Khayelitsha, the public protector found the city did not provide residents with adequate access to water, violating the constitutional right of access to sufficient water and failing to comply with its obligations under the Municipal Systems Act to provide services fairly and equitably.Read: Cape Town has three months to fix what apartheid housing builtThe report further finds that nonoperational high-mast lights left residents exposed to the risk of violence from criminal elements at night. It also finds the city initially failed to engage Eskom before relocating residents, leaving some relocated families without electricity, though the report notes the municipality later engaged the power utility during the relocation process. Despite that engagement, the affected residents remained without electricity at the time the report was finalised.The PP also found that Matthew Goniwe and Town Two clinics lacked smoke detectors and CCTV surveillance systems, placing staff and patients at risk and breaching occupational health and safety requirements and the city’s obligations to provide safe access to healthcare services.Beyond individual service failures, the report finds deficiencies in the enforcement of municipal by-laws allowed informal structures to be erected over critical sewer servitudes, contributing to infrastructure collapse and recurring sewer blockages. It also finds that ongoing refuse accumulation and illegal dumping continue to expose residents to health risks despite regular waste collection in some areas.The PP concluded the city’s failure to take reasonable measures over a number of years, despite repeated commitments to address the problems, constituted improper conduct and maladministration under the constitution and the Public Protector Act.The report says the sustained service delivery failures violate residents’ constitutional rights to dignity, a healthy environment, adequate housing, healthcare and water, while also demonstrating failures of accountability, responsiveness and efficiency in public administration.The report acknowledges the city has implemented several interventions during the investigation. These include repairs to sections of the sewer network, the installation and repair of portable toilets and standpipes, resurfacing roads, repairing some high-mast lights, upgrading safety equipment at clinics, relocating vulnerable residents, improving waste collection and undertaking further work on ageing sewer infrastructure. The public protector said these interventions demonstrate responsiveness but noted significant service delivery deficiencies remain unresolved.The report also accepts that the city faces significant challenges, including ageing infrastructure, rapid growth of informal settlements, vandalism, land invasions and financial pressures. However, it said these factors do not absolve the municipality of its constitutional responsibilities. Instead, they highlight the need to assess whether municipalities with extensive informal settlements receive adequate support through the country’s intergovernmental fiscal framework.The public protector therefore recommended that finance minister Enoch Godongwana, with the ministers of human settlements and co-operative governance, the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town, assess whether existing equitable share allocations and other funding mechanisms adequately support municipalities facing major infrastructure backlogs and increasing service delivery demands. The assessment must also consider whether changes to the funding framework are required.The report directs the city’s municipal manager to provide additional water and sanitation facilities in SST-Marikana, complete long-term repairs to sewer infrastructure in Langa Flats and Khayelitsha, develop a sustainable cleaning strategy for Langa Flats, conclude outstanding lease agreements, restore high-mast lighting, prioritise electricity access for relocated families and ensure clinics are equipped with appropriate fire detection systems.The executive mayor has also been instructed to table the report before the municipal council in 60 days, while the Western Cape MEC for local government has been directed to monitor the city’s implementation of the remedial action and consider intervention should there be substantial noncompliance.In representations made before publication of the report, the city disputed aspects of the proposed findings, arguing it has co-operated extensively with the investigation and insufficient weight has been given to its ongoing interventions, funding constraints, ageing infrastructure, vandalism, unlawful occupation of land and the responsibilities of other organs of state, including Eskom. The public protector said those representations were considered and some factual clarifications were incorporated into the final report but concluded they do not warrant any departure from the findings of maladministration or the remedial action.
