The Democratic Alliance (DA)-led City of Cape Town (CoCT) local municipality has been found by Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka to have failed to progressively and effectively provide basic municipal services to residents of Langa Flats and Khayelitsha. The constitutional watchdog concluded that the municipality’s conduct amounted to maladministration, improper conduct and prejudice.
The findings, contained in a 292-page report released on Tuesday, cut against the DA’s long-standing claim that municipalities under its control set the national benchmark for governance and service delivery.
Instead, Gcaleka’s investigation paints a troubling picture of residents forced to endure years of broken sewerage systems, unsafe housing, inadequate access to water, poor sanitation, refuse accumulation, failing public lighting and deteriorating infrastructure.
Complaints lodged in 2022, 2023
The investigation stemmed from complaints lodged during the Public Protector’s community roadshows in 2022 and 2023 before expanding into a systemic probe involving site inspections, engagements with residents and city officials, and an examination of municipal records.
In her findings, Gcaleka did not hold back against the city led by DA federal leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“The allegation that basic municipal services are not rendered in conformity with the Constitution and the law, is substantiated.”
Among the most serious findings was the city’s failure to regularise the occupation of Langa Flats despite charging residents rent.
“The CoCT has not been able to sign lease agreements with all residents of Langa Flats,” states her report.
It says the failure has undermined residents’ constitutional right to adequate housing and left many without legal security of tenure.
Deterioration of infrastructure
The Public Protector also found that essential infrastructure had been allowed to deteriorate.
“The CoCT has not been able to fully repair the sewer infrastructure at Langa Flats, fire rails and cracked housing unit walls and common areas are still untidy,” the report says, adding that residents continue to face risks to their health, safety and dignity.
Conditions in Khayelitsha were found to be equally alarming.
“The CoCT has not provided residents of SST-Marikana with access to adequate water in violation of section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution,” Gcaleka found, while also criticising the municipality’s failure to restore non-functioning high-mast lights, leaving residents exposed to criminal activity after dark.
Summing up the investigation, the Public Protector concluded: “The sustained pattern of service delivery failures by CoCT functionaries… constitutes a comprehensive violation of residents’ fundamental rights under sections 10, 24, 26 and 27 of the Constitution.”
Although the report acknowledges that Cape Town repaired some roads, sewer lines, clinics and other infrastructure during the investigation, it concludes that the interventions did not erase years of systemic failures.
Remedial deadlines
Gcaleka has now ordered the municipality to meet strict remedial deadlines. Within 30 days, the city must ensure access to water for SST-Marikana residents and engage Eskom on restoring high-mast lighting.
Within 60 days, it must table the report before council and submit long-term cleaning and lighting strategies. Within 120 days, it must implement long-term sewer rehabilitation measures.
Within six months, it must produce a housing regularisation plan, conclude lease agreements with affected residents and ensure clinics are fitted with appropriate fire detection systems.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has also been given six months to assess whether municipalities burdened by ageing infrastructure and growing informal settlements receive adequate fiscal support before reporting back to the Public Protector.
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- The Public Protector found the DA-led City of Cape Town guilty of maladministration for failing to provide adequate municipal services in Langa Flats and Khayelitsha, contradicting the DA’s claims of service delivery excellence.
- Investigations revealed years of broken sewerage, unsafe housing, lack of water access, poor sanitation, refuse buildup, broken public lighting, and deteriorating infrastructure harming residents' health, safety, and dignity.
- A key issue was the municipality’s failure to regularize housing leases in Langa Flats, violating residents' constitutional right to adequate housing and legal security.
- The Public Protector ordered the city to meet strict deadlines for restoring water supply, fixing infrastructure, regularizing housing, and improving safety measures; finance ministry to review municipal funding support.
- Despite some repairs during the investigation, the report highlights ongoing, systemic failures amounting to constitutional violations of residents’ fundamental rights.
