The Constitutional Court will rule whether the government is obliged to provide sanitation and lighting to communities, even if they live in an informal settlement, when it sits in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The Harry Gwala informal settlement in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, believes it is entitled to the basics of taps and water, sanitation and lighting, in terms of the constitution.

The settlement is on the eastern edge of Wattville, Benoni, on the farm Rietfontein.

The settlers approached the High Court in Johannesburg for an order that the municipality install communal water taps, temporary sanitation facilities, refuse removal facilitation and high-mast lighting in key areas.

This, pending a decision by the local government and housing member of the executive committee (MEC) on whether it should be upgraded to a formal township.

In August 2006, the municipality submitted a proposal for the township's upgrading to the MEC, but a decision has not yet been made.

The applicants argued in the High Court that the municipality was obliged, in terms of its statutory obligations, to provide the settlement with the basic services demanded.

The high court found that chapter 12 of the housing code did not apply because the emergency housing requirements, as defined in the chapter, were not present.

It furthermore held that chapter 13 of the housing code was only of application once a decision had been taken to upgrade an informal settlement.

The municipality accepted the obligation to provide communal water taps, which the court ordered. The court dismissed the claim for sanitation services and high mast lighting.

The applicants contend that the high court failed to sufficiently recognise several constitutional and statutory provisions, but more specifically the right to adequate housing, provided for in section 26 of the constitution.

The MEC, the national Minister of Human Dettlements and the DG of the national Department of Human Settlements were joined in the matter.

The municipality contends that the constitutional and statutory provisions relied on by the applicants do not provide for an automatic right of every person, regardless of the circumstances, to receive the services demanded.

As far as sanitation is concerned, it states that it is able to provide one chemical toilet per ten families.

In relation to high mast lighting, it submits that supply is dependent on permission being granted to connect to the Eskom grid, and that Eskom will not likely relax its policy that electricity not be provided to an area not proclaimed a formal township.

The MEC, the minister and DG said they would supplement the funds of the municipality in order to provide one chemical toilet per four households in the settlement.

They stress that this relief should not have general application and be restricted to the settlement only, as the respondents are not in a position to extend this solution to all similarly placed informal settlements.

They submit that this matter is unusual by reason of the inordinate delay in finalising the application for the upgrading of the settlement.