Press Statement
QQ Section Concerned Residents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 13 June, 2008
Khayelitsha – While the Democratic Alliance and the ANC fight with one another over service delivery in order to gain
votes for the upcoming elections, a small community has decided that they are tired of relying on politicians and their
false promises. After a highly participatory process that has included 10 committee meetings and more than 10 mass
community meetings, the Abahlali (residents) of QQ Section (an informal settlement in Khayelitsha) are on their way
towards establishing their first creche in the area and installing the only toilet.in the settlement
More than 20 years after QQ Section was established, its 600 families still have no access to basic services gauranteed
by the Constituition. While its 3000 abahlali rely on only 8 water taps for drinking, washing and bathing, they do not
even have the option of sharing toilets because not a single bathroom has been installed on site.
If one of the legacies of Apartheid is the dehumanization South Africa's nonwhite population, the legacy of the current
government will not be very different: people all over South Africa continue to be humiliated everytime they have to go
to the toilet.
However, six months ago, the Abahlali of QQ came together to take matters into their own hands. First and formost on the
minds of families was the education, health and safety of their children. After extensitve deliberations, they decided
that the most effective way of helping the children of the community was to set up a community-run creche. This would
not only prepare the children for school, but would take a huge burden off of working parents. It would provide a safe
place for children to play and a warm place for the children to nap during the day.
But during one of the meetings a concerned parent questioned the idea: "how would the children go to the bathroom when
there are no toilets in QQ? We cannot send our kids to the bushes – its dirty and dangerous!" So, Abahali decided that
they must install their own toilet specially for the children.
Months later, the new Children's Committee, which will oversee oprations at the creche, has just finished going
door-to-door collecting 5 Rand from each household to pay for the new structure and the toilet. They have raised enough
money to build both the creche and a special environmental 'waterless toilet'. Quite different from the unhygenic 'pit
toilets' that the government installs, this toilet will not smell and will decompose waste so that it can eventually be
used as fertilizer.
While the opening of the creche is still a few weeks away, Abahlali are already excited and proud about their
acheivment. But residents are still angry that the government continues to ingore them. Says Mzonke Poni, chairperson of
QQ Section Concerned Residents: "The toilet cost us over 3,000 Rand. As poor residents, we should not have to bare this
burden since it is the government's constitutional obligation to provide us with basic sanitation. The government should
pay us back imediately for the cost of the toilet".
ends