Bus commuters, who use the Golden Arrow terminus in the Cape Town CBD, say they are disgusted by the stench coming from recently installed portable toilets on the Grand Parade.
Mense says the stink has them gagging on their own vomit as they wait in long lines for buses to arrive.
The row of smelly toilets is situated between the Golden Arrow ticket office and the public restrooms on the Parade.
The Daily Voice on Wednesday visited the area, on Parade day, where even the vendors said they could not stomach the stench, with some packing up early, saying they are afraid of catching a disease.
The toilets run along the Retreat and Ocean View bus queues.
One commuter, travelling to Ocean View, said she walked over part of the Grand Parade from Darling Street and the smell hit her 100 metres away already.
Vanessa Christians, 47, says she feels sorry for commuters who have no choice but to stomach the stench.
“This is not only morsig, it’s unhealthy. We are mos not animals to have to stand here in the k**. It makes me naar. I don’t know if they even clean it out. I have yet to see anyone besides bergies actually use these toilets. Die City dink niks van ‘n mens nie.”
Another commuter said she literally threw up the first time she passed the toilets.
Saadiqah Ahmed, 27, from Lentegeur, says: “Who would even use that smelly loo?
Photo: Jack Lestrade/Daily Voice
“We just one day saw the toilets and got the smell after they started rebuilding the Parade’s shops. This is not right. We can die from the germs.”
But Maurice Smith, 34, from 8ste Laan in Valhalla Park says people who work in the CBD must stop being so sturvy.
“This is exactly the smell we have in the shacks. Onse eie gemors vergif ons. Get a hospital mask of protest soema daaroor, but welcome to our lives,” he says.
The City Health Department confirms they’ve been asked to look into the “unpleasant smell emanating from the toilets” and an update will be provided soon.
“The public toilets are a temporary, interim measure to be used as an alternative while the public toilets on the Grand Parade are being refurbished,” says Luthando Tyhalibongo, spokesperson for the City.