Johannesburg — HUMAN Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale stood in a pool of sewage yesterday as he spoke to residents of the informal settlement of Diepsloot.

The community, which is just up the road from the plush Johannesburg suburb of Fourways, took to the streets in a violent protest last month.

Unperturbed by the smell, Sexwale was there to launch a listening campaign, as part of which he was to spend a night in several townships, starting last night in Diepsloot.

The initiative comes three months into Sexwale's term in office and two years before the 2011 local government elections.

"We are standing on human waste. We are in Diepsloot. This is where we start our journey. We are starting a meaningful conversation with the people," Sexwale said.

While there are more than 2000 informal settlements in SA, the Diepsloot protest, which saw more than a dozen people arrested, got extensive media coverage.

But Sexwale brushed aside criticism that his visit to the township would encourage more uprisings in other communities, saying the government had sent a clear message that violence would not be tolerated.

"What is at issue here is that people are living in inhuman conditions. This is an honest attempt to hear the views. A genuine attempt to hear the problems of the people," Sexwale said.

The campaign had been endorsed by President Jacob Zuma , who saw the move as an effort to bridge the gap between the top leaders of the government and ordinary people.

"The president cannot jump every time there are problems. That is why we are here," Sexwale said.

While it was originally reported that residents in Diepsloot were up in arms over poor service delivery, local municipal councillor Madlozi Ndlazi yesterday described the uprising as a simple act of criminality.

"There is a burst pipe here. The municipality comes to mend it all the time. We decided that we had to move this row of shacks in order to replace the pipe.

"The problem is that some of the shacks we needed to move had been turned into spaza shops. The owners spread the word that we were moving the community to Brits, that's what started this," said Ndlazi.

His comment was supported by several residents Business Day spoke to in Diepsloot.

However, residents also pointed a finger at Ndlazi for not destroying the shacks when occupants w ere moved into low-cost houses nearby, and accused him of renting them out. Ndlazi denied the allegation.

About 150000 people live in Diepsloot, and about a third of these live in shacks. While basic services have been provided in most of the township, those in the reception area live in squalor.

While the government has apparently moved people out of the reception area and into low-cost housing several times, the shacks were not destroyed and more people moved in.

Community worker Bella Sehloho, said yesterday Sexwale's visit had renewed the community's hope.

"We now have hope that JZ (Zuma) will deliver on his promises. Before they only came when they wanted us to vote. We have been living in poverty. The people here do not want a lot. We want land, we will build our own houses. We want jobs."