Plastic bottles, bags, cans and all kinds of waste are scattered next to a shipping container in the Overcome Heights informal settlement, with residents claiming the issue has caused rats to invade their homes.
Further down the road, a man and dog search through an even large pile of waste.
Nandipha Mputa, who has been living in Overcome Heights for more than eight years, says they are fed up with the conditions they are forced to live in.
“The whole community is furious and angry about the housing and lack of services. Our streets are full of rubbish, there is a lot of water after the rains and flooding, especially during winter.
“We don’t get proper services in Overcome Heights. We are crying, it has been years and years that they (the City) have been saying that they are going to build us houses, but nothing has changed, and now there are big rats, even in our houses, because of the rubbish.”
Last week residents burnt tyres and cordoned the road off in protest against the lack of service delivery and housing.
Carminita Davids, a resident of more than eight years, said the community has had enough.
“I moved here when my children were at primary school. One child has completed matric and the other is in Grade 12 now.
What does that tell us? It shows my children will have to raise their children in a shack one day. We have had enough, as it is not healthy.”
She declared it was time for their concerns to be heard.
“All the kids in this road play in the rubbish, and tomorrow the mothers must run to the hospital because the kids are getting skin rashes and pimples.
“When will the government take action and do something for Overcome Heights? What is its intention with us?”
Community leader Karen Mentoor said the government cared only when it came to voting.
“I don’t feel as if we would vote, and I will tell the whole of Overcome Heights not to vote. If they don’t want to come to the table, then nobody will vote and this is how the people are feeling.”
According to Mentoor, over the years residents had been patient and peaceful, but they had had enough.
“We have been saying we need more water channels, so when it rains the water does not flood roads and houses.
“We asked for housing and were told there will be no housing for Overcome because we are too many people.”
She added rubbish is not collected on a regular schedule.
“You must see what our places look like; they are dirty and rats are running around. We also try to clean up, but then we have nowhere to throw the rubbish.
“The containers are full of rubbish so people start throwing the waste in front of the containers, so it’s bad now to stay in Overcome Heights.
The City says it delivers, but as you can see this is how we have to live in a place like this.”
According to the City of Cape Town, authorities were aware of the waste-collection issue.
“Residents are assured that the City’s Urban Waste Management Directorate is making every effort to address the refuse-collection delays that are currently being experienced in affected informal settlements across Cape Town.
City teams are extending their internal resources also to service the areas normally done by contractors.”
Affected areas include Khayelitsha, Delft, Wallacedene, Driftsands, Fairdale, Dunoon, Atlantis, Philippi, Gugulethu and Langa.
“Cleansing services in these areas have unfortunately been affected since 1 July 2023.
“Currently, the City is deploying cleansing workers from other programmes in the city, including specialised cleansing services (heavy lifting machinery) to clear dumping hotspots, and is working over weekends to address the situation on the ground.
“Unfortunately, there are simply not enough staff available to realistically compensate for the absence of normal planned programmes currently.”
