One of the effects of the now week-long taxi strike in the Western Cape is delays in service delivery. While some communities were already having service delivery issues, the strike has compounded them.

Basic services such as refuse collection, sanitation and electrical services have become casualties of the week-long taxi strike in the Western Cape. As commuters wait to hear if there will be taxis in the coming days, residents are waiting to hear when services will operate again.

The taxi strike - on its seventh consecutive day on Wednesday, 9 August - has affected service delivery in not only Cape Town, but in the rest of the Western Cape. It is affecting water and sanitation provision and electricity supply, as staff cannot enter hotspot areas to fix problems or because staff shortages affect service.

Both public and private services have been affected. Parow resident Asive Mbinjana told Daily Maverick her bathroom had been blocked since Monday, but due to the strike, her usually reliable plumber could not get to her area.

"I reached out to a trusted plumber but I was informed they couldn't work as travelling was unsafe," she said.

As Mbinjana lives in a rented room on a property, she now needs to use a fellow renter's bathroom while she waits for a plumber to arrive.

At least five people have been killed in incidents directly related to the strike....