Dunoon leaders concerned about theft of chemical toilets at informal settlements
According to community leaders, this trend, where criminals are stealing city-supplied toilets and selling them to people of other informal settlements, has been happening for a few years.
A glaring lack of sanitation at the Loyiso Nkohla informal settlement in Cape Town. Picture: Ntuthuzelo Nene/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - Community leaders from Dunoon in Cape Town say they're concerned about the ongoing theft of chemical toilets at informal settlements in the area.
According to them, this trend, where criminals are stealing city-supplied toilets and selling them to people of other informal settlements, has been happening for a few years.
It's further alleged that the buyers would charge other residents a fee to use the toilets.
Some community leaders in Dunoon have attributed the behaviour of toilet theft to the growing demand for ablution facilities in the rapidly growing population in informal settlements in the area.
Acting ward councillor, Thando Dedezane, told Eyewitness News that this had negatively affected residents of several informal settlements, who were in dire need of the service.
"You can go to all our informal settlements in Dunoon, it may be Zwezwe, Riverside, Section 28, Site 5 and so forth, there is a shortage of these things."
Dedezane said that in some cases, 50 families were sharing one toilet, and it could be that those who were stealing were trying to plug a gap where there weren't any toilets to service the people.