No one can live like this, say Ramaphosa informal settlement residents amid growing sanitation crisis

Residents of the Ramaphosa informal settlement in Vereeniging, have been battling a serious sanitation crisis. (Photo: Nonkululeko Njilo)

By Nonkululeko Njilo

27 May 2025

Residents of Ramaphosa informal settlement in Emfuleni are living through a deepening sanitation crisis, with portable toilets teeming with maggots, water taps running dry, and rubbish piling up in their streets, putting their health at risk.

For months, residents of the Ramaphosa informal settlement in Vereeniging, located about 50 kilometres from Johannesburg, have been battling a serious sanitation crisis. Their portable toilets have not been cleaned, and some have become so badly infested with maggots that many have been left with no choice but to rely on the bucket system.

Approximately 3,000 households live in the Ramaphosa informal settlement, where there is no formal housing, electricity, or proper roads. Although there are taps, residents say that water supply is inconsistent.

With no access to electricity, most people use candles, paraffin lamps, and stoves for lighting and cooking.

“Some of us are women and it is very easy to get infections, so we had no choice but to use the buckets to relieve ourselves,” said Ayanda Mpuluseng.

Mpuluseng has been a resident in the area since 2019.

The settlement itself was the result of an illegal land occupation in 2018 and is named after the country’s first citizen, Cyril Ramaphosa. It falls under the ailing Emfuleni Local Municipality.

The municipality, encompassing Evaton, Sebokeng, Sharpeville, Boipatong, Bophelong and Tshepiso townships, remains one of the poorest performing municipalities in Gauteng province, as can be seen in Good Governance Africa’s (GGA) Governance Performance Index from March 2025.

Disgruntled residents

On Monday, 26 May 2025, the Democratic Alliance conducted an oversight visit to the area.

“Please do the right thing,” shouted one resident to a DA delegation.

As the delegation reached out to the man, Nicholas Ziyane, he shared the plight of his living conditions, pleading with them to bring about change.

Ziyane initially scolded the delegation: “Why do you come when you only want votes?”

The delegation was quick to defend itself, saying this was not the case as elections were still far away.

“No one can live this, please help us sir,” Ziyane said.

Priscilla Sello, a resident, stands next to a dry tap that she says has not produced water since December 2025. (Photo: Nonkululeko Njilo)

Yvonne McColen from the Lerato Dropping Centre prepares lunch for more than 300 children living in and around Ramaphosa informal settlement. (Photo: Nonkululeko Njilo)

Another resident, Priscilla Sello, told the delegation that her toilet had been cleaned last week, after about four months of not being serviced.

Although Sello was relieved that her toilet had finally been cleaned, she feared she might find herself in the same situation again.

“I am happy they came to clean, but they might come back again only after three months,” she said.

Although most yards appear to have their own toilets Sello said this was not the case for everyone, saying she shared a toilet with about nine other households.

The DA’s Mervyn Cirota, an MPL and Gauteng Shadow MEC for Human Settlements, said: “This is unacceptable and indicates the Gauteng government's lack of involvement in municipal affairs.

“The government’s reactive approach only responds to crises when they hit the headlines — such as the recent attempts to empty the toilets in Ramaphosa informal settlement after public outrage. This is disappointing as these quick fixes do not address the real challenge,” Cirota said.

Read more: A tale of two Gauteng municipalities — Midvaal’s clean audit triumph vs Emfuleni’s persistent woes

ANC councillor Taliyana Zinyana said the sanitation problems in the area were longstanding because the provincial government failed to appoint service providers on time to clean and maintain the toilets.

She said one company was hired to do the job from March to June 2025. After that, the province delayed appointing a new provider, leaving residents without any services for about two months, although some residents say it was as long as four months.

Zinyana said the MMC for human settlements had since met with two previous service providers and asked them to help the community. Both had agreed to assist for now.

It’s still unclear when a new service provider will be officially appointed, as the provincial treasury has not yet approved the budget.

“At the moment I have no idea when it will be resolved, unless it has been communicated to the MMC or the MEC,” Zinyana said.

‘It’s a disaster’

Water is another major challenge for the community. Some taps have been dry for months, forcing residents to depend on their neighbours for water. But even that isn’t guaranteed, as some neighbours also face inconsistent water supply and sometimes refuse to share.

Sizwe Basa, a resident wearing an ANC T-shirt featuring an image of Ramaphosa, said that despite the many challenges facing the community, he would continue to vote for the ANC.

“As you can see, my sister, nothing works here. We don’t have electricity, we have the water sometimes, but I don’t trust other politicians (from the DA). I think they just want the votes and nothing else,” Basa said.

Esther Bowers De Kork, a local resident, says she has lost faith in politicians. She is seen at an illegal dumping site where she has been forced to dispose of her waste due to the lack of refuse collection in the area. (Photo: Nonkululeko Njilo)

Sizwe Basa, a resident wearing an ANC T-shirt featuring the party president, said that despite the many challenges facing the community, he would continue to vote for the ANC. (Photo: Nonkululeko Njilo)

Ramaphosa informal settlement. (Photo: Nonkululeko Njilo)

Just metres from the informal settlement is Rustervaal, a predominantly coloured community facing similar challenges — one of the biggest being illegal dumping, which residents say is taking a toll on their health.

Marta Hermans, who was born and raised in the area, lives next to a dumping site used by both local residents and people from nearby informal settlements.

“Trash was last collected in January,” she said. “It’s bad because even our health is now compromised. My child is even now suffering from asthma because of this.”

Hermans said residents had tried to clean the area themselves, but their efforts hadn’t made much of a difference.

“Community members tried to clean up the dump, but that did not yield positive results as residents were forced to come back to the dump as trash is not collected,” she said.

Facing the dumping site is a community church, part of which is used by the Lerato Dropping Centre, a non-profit organisation that provides breakfast and lunch to more than 350 children. The centre also helps disadvantaged children with homework and offers other support.

Pitso Thomas and Yvonne McColen, who work at the centre, said the ongoing dumping problem made their work more difficult.

“The illegal dumping really affects the work we do because we are dealing with children here, and the sad part is that we clean daily but there is no difference. When health inspectors come, it looks like we are not clean,” said McColen.

“In summer, it is worse. It’s a disaster, actually,” added Thomas.

With local government elections set for 2026, most residents in the area feel despondent.

Esther Bowers de Kork said she had lost faith in politicians. She was seen at an illegal dumping site where she had been forced to dispose of her waste due to the lack of refuse collection.

Asked about waste collection, Zinyana said it was a serious challenge that the municipality had committed to resolving soon, but without giving any timeframes.

Bowers de Kork also criticised the high levels of crime and the presence of illegal immigrants in the area.

“I do not vote any more because the government has failed me, not me alone but all of us.”

EWN reported that Premier Panyaza Lesufi said it was unacceptable for the government to neglect basic services such as cleaning toilets. He has directed the provincial human settlements department to urgently address and resolve the sanitation crisis.

“I had a very not-so-nice meeting with the HOD and MEC of human settlements because this matter has been brought to my attention. We just need to attend to it and resolve it,” he said. DM

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Disgruntled residents

‘It’s a disaster’