Residents of Phillippi are reporting a complete collapse of basic service delivery, with years of complaints about burst sewage pipes and uncollected rubbish yielding little to no action from the City of Cape Town.
The community describes a daily reality where raw sewage flows from outdated and broken pipes directly into yards and past doorsteps. This persistent issue, they say, is compounded by a rapidly growing population that places further strain on the already failing infrastructure.
The local ward councillor, Councillor Gadeni, confirms that the problems have been reported to the City on numerous occasions. He expressed deep frustration, revealing that even after inviting a Mayoral Committee Member (MEO) to the area in 2022, promises to resolve the crisis have not been fulfilled.
“He was here. He had promised that this issue is going to be resolved but still to date there’s been no effort in terms of resolving this issue,” stated Councillor Gadeni.
Beyond the sewage crisis, residents say refuse collection is almost non-existent. They blame a waste contractor who was awarded a tender but allegedly never commenced work.
Councillor Gadeni believes the neglect is politically motivated. He claims that areas under ANC ward councillors, like his, are deliberately sidelined by the Democratic Alliance (DA)-led city government.
“It’s even clear in how we do receive service delivery,” Gadeni said. “Officials always give us funny excuses… But when you look in other areas where they are DA-controlled, they are effectively doing exactly what is correct. One is inclined to say that maybe there’s been an instruction from the DA.”
In response, the City of Cape Town defended its record, stating that it spends almost all of its informal settlement budget on service delivery. A city spokesperson said, “In the past financial year, for instance, the city spent 99% of informal settlement grants on service delivery and upgrading.” The spokesperson also highlighted that the Human Settlements Directorate has allocated an estimated 1.5 billion rand for informal settlement upgrades over the next three years.
The City added that resources are limited and that the rapid growth of informal settlements places huge pressure on service delivery. However, for the residents of Phillippi, these explanations offer little comfort as they continue to live surrounded by sewage and refuse, waiting for the promises of action to materialize.