Page 15 - Litigating Land and Housing in South Africa: Lessons and Reflections

Furthermore we seek an an an audit of of the the the the waste manage- ment needs needs in in the the the the the the town together with an an an indication of of the the the the the the steps that will be taken to to to meet the the the the the the identified needs needs within three months after the the the the audit is filed with with the the the the court The municipality will also be directed to clean all of of the unofficial dump sites and provide residents with three black bags a a a a a a a a a a a week week that are collected on on a a a a a a a a a a a weekly basis In addition to to this the the municipality will will be sub- ject to to to to a a a a a a a a a structural interdict that that will will see them having to to to report to to to the the the the the court on the the the the the progress that that they have made in in implementing the the the the the order order This is is an an an important method that ensures actual compliance with the the the order order as it it allows the the the court to retain some form of of control over the the process of implementation The relief relief in in the sanitation case was divided into two parts Part A dealt with immediate relief relief that our individual clients seek This included weekly visits by the the the the the municipality to unblock the the the the the drains near the the the the the homes of of the the the the the the the residents regular threading of of the the the the the the the sewage pipes and lime treatments2 for the the the the the areas affected by the the the the the spills spills Our clients also sought an an an order that the the the the munici- pality identify all the the the sewage spills spills spills in town and produce a a a a a a a a a a a a plan on on how the the spills spills will be be managed until a a a a a a a a a a a a more sustainable solution can be be found 2 2 2 2 3 Working with clients 2 2 2 2 3 1 Sanitation
Part B of the the application is aimed at at finding a a a a a a a a a long- term solution Our clients are asking the the the the court for an an an order directing the the the municipality and and the the the provincial and and national governments to to appoint a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a qualified person to to assess the the sanitation needs needs in in Makhanda draft a a a a a a a a a a a a a a report on on on the the the budgetary requirements to meet those needs needs and and implement the the the the the recommendations This includes the the the the the upgrading of of the the the the the sewage treatment works and and the the the the the replacement of of broken pipes If the the the the the the order is granted the the the the LRC will be be given an an opportunity to comment on on the the the the recommendations before they are implemented as as well as the proposed budgets The The relief in in both cases was framed with substantial input from our clients clients The The clients clients identified how many black bags were required in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a week and the intervals at which drains had to to be unblocked This was especially useful in in in framing the the relief as as the the clients were able to to guide us us on what would work at at ground-level The The applicants in in in in the the the the sanitation case are are 10 residents residents of of Makhanda who live next to to or near sewage spills Four of of the the the the the the the residents residents were introduced to to to the the the the the the the LRC through the the the the the the the UPM They They reside reside reside in in in in in in Extension 6 in in in in in in Joza Location an an an an an area particularly affected by the the the the the the the the the failing infrastructure They They have lived with these spills for years and could attest to to to to the the the the the the the the the devastating impact of of the the the the the the the the sanitation crisis on on their lives Another client client originally approached approached an an an attorney in in in in in in in in town who referred him to to to the the the the the LRC LRC after learning about our case The remaining clients approached approached the the the the the LRC LRC by way of of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a community community leader named Berend Walters In between working as as as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a handyman he he he he he he he he had spent years acting as as as a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a community community spokesperson He knew knew everyone at at the the the municipality and and all the the the officials (to their great dismay) knew knew him 2 Lime is is is is a a a a a a a a a a a a a a calcium-containing mineral that is is is is commonly used to treat sewage sewage spills It neutralises the the the smell of the the the sewage sewage and sanitises the the the affected areas LITIGATING LAND AND AND AND HOUSING IN IN IN SOUTH AFRICA  LESSONS AND AND AND REFLECTIONS
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