Driekie Stander, Table View
Referring to “Life’s not always a beach” (Tabletalk, June 8), I would like to know if it is my imagination, or is there really a shortage of public toilets in and around Cape Town?
With elections coming up, there are again many promises of upgrading and improvements and blah, blah, blah, but yet nothing gets done to solve our very basic problems.
The story about the street people is shocking and it is a disgrace. All very well for (mayoral committee member for safety and security) JP Smith to quote the by-law about what people are allowed to do on the street, but where can the public go if they need a toilet? I went into town on Worker’s Day and discovered the public toilets of the Checkers Shopping Centre on Kloof Street were locked, although the shops were open. On request of the key, I was told the toilets were locked because of the public holiday and they refused to open it for me. What a bad reflection on South Africa from a tourist point of view. I may not be a tourist, but I am a ratepayer and could have been the Queen of England for all they knew. I still maintain the lives of local South Africans need to be improved, before multimillion rand projects are tackled. It’s of no use if they build fancy hotels for tourists, but make no provision for a public toilet for everyday shoppers and locals.
