Mayor causes a stir at toilet clean-up

Cape Town Mayor Patricia de Lille has been accused of reneging on a promise to get her hands dirty helping clean bucket toilets in townships.

She announced there would be a toilet clean-up in at least two informal settlements.

Taking more than enough precautions, Patricia de Lille arrived with a heavy police escort and a face mask.

The mayor watched as council workers cleaned over a dozen toilets, but did not participate in the clean-up herself.

Instead she explained why the container toilets have not been cleaned since April, blaming it on a labour dispute between service provider, Sanicare and its employees.

Residents were less than happy at what some are calling a publicity stunt.

"She mustn't put the mask. She must come without the mask and so she can see how full is that bucket," said a resident.

De Lille's office said she left early because she had a flight to catch, denying it was meant as a PR exercise to counter two recent toilet protests where faeces was dumped outside provincial government offices.

"Her visit was merely a case of personally ensuring services are delivered," said De Lille's office.