People living in one of Cape Town’s informal settlements will be able to report emergencies at the push of a button.
|||People living in one of Cape Town’s informal settlements will be able to report broken toilets and taps to a city agent at the push of a button.
Council workers who respond will be directed by a GPS application on their radio phones to the exact location.
The emergency phone pilot project for water services was launched in the Fisantekraal informal settlement by Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille on Thursday.
The emergency phone, which costs R15 000 a unit, will make it easier for the residents of Fisantekraal to report problems with their toilets and taps as well as their sewerage systems.
The phone is radio-based and transfers callers directly to a call centre agent, for free, at the push of a button.
Residents read out the barcode of the toilet or tap and explain what the problem is and get a reference number.
Once the call is logged, the complaint is transferred to council workers who are directed by a GPS application on their radio phones to the exact location of the toilet, tap, or sewerage system.
Fisantekraal residents were pleased with the arrival of the phone, but some, like 20-year-old Ntlokiseng Maphasa, said more needed to be done.
She said toilets and taps were not the area’s biggest issues.
“They’ve done well to bring the phone.
“However, they need to do much more. Our biggest problems are rape, assault, and break-ins.
“We need a telephone line through which we will be able to report those problems as well.”
Maphasa also said having electricity would make the area safer.
De Lille acknowledged the residents’ issues and emphasised her commitment to building a “more caring” city.
She said the pilot project was part of the city’s attempts to provide services to all Capetonians. “This is the first time we have come right into an informal settlement to make sure that people living here have access to all the services available in Cape Town.”
The project will be rolled out to five other informal settlements which have yet to be identified.
De Lille urged the residents to take pride in their new phone.
“We can only fix something when we know it’s broken. Look after the phone. If there’s an emergency and it has been vandalised, it will impact badly on the community. Own the phone, it belongs to you,” said De Lille.
sibongakonke.mama@inl.co.za - Cape Argus