More than 900 residents in Kraaifontein and Scottsville have received practical training on water conservation and sanitation practices through a series of community workshops, as the City of Cape Town looks to grassroots partnerships to address the growing pressure on ageing sewer infrastructure and a deteriorating Diep River catchment.

The workshops are being led by Manjiya Economic Development, a local non-profit organisation and one of 22 community-based groups currently supported through the City of Cape Town’s water and sanitation grant funding programme, an initiative designed to extend the municipality’s reach into communities where the gap between policy and lived reality is often widest.

Across eight sessions held in Kraaifontein and Scottsville in recent months, residents including young adults and learners have been guided through the everyday behaviours that contribute to sewer blockages and overflows, why proper sanitation matters and how to log a service request with the City when infrastructure fails.

Water pollution, everyone’s fight

The sessions are deliberately practical. Each one is designed to connect residents’ own waste disposal habits directly to the consequences they see in their streets, waterways and homes.

“The City cannot tackle the scale of water pollution and sewer overflows alone,” said Zahid Badroodien, the City’s Mayco member for water and sanitation. “Partnerships like the one with Manjiya Economic Development allow us to extend our reach and discuss practical solutions, taking into account lived reality at a community level. It also creates an opportunity to support residents who are passionate about dignified sanitation and promoting wise water use.”

Through this, we successfully raised awareness on water conservation and improved sanitation practices across our communities.

For Manjiya Economic Development, the grant has unlocked more than just workshop materials. The organisation has placed equal emphasis on education, awareness and job creation, framing sanitation not merely as an infrastructural issue, but as a community development one.

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“The City’s grant enabled us to deliver impactful community and school activities, by providing vital resources and support,” said Luntu Manjiya of Manjiya Economic Development. “Through this, we successfully raised awareness on water conservation and improved sanitation practices across our communities.”

The work forms part of a broader strategy to protect the Diep River catchment, a waterway under sustained pressure from informal settlements, sewer overflows and illegal dumping in surrounding areas.