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Learners at a primary school in a rural area in KwaZulu-Natal are proud of their school being the only one in the area with flush toilets. This is after an NGO built 22 flush toilets at the school, replacing six pit toilets that 700 learners had been using for years.
Basic Education Minister wants all pit toilets gone
The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, announced that the government will eliminate the backlog in getting rid of pit toilets in schools by next year by replacing them with flush toilets.
She recently attended an event at Deda Primary School where 22 low-cost flush toilets were installed. The school is located in the deep rural Ozwathini area between oThongathi and Wartburg in KwaZulu-Natal. These toilets make use of gathered rainwater and only use 2 litres of water per flush.
The NGO Breadline Africa built these flush toilets at a cost of just under R1-million. Up until now, learners at the school had to use pit toilets that were both unsanitary and dangerous to use. Markedly, since the school has flush toilets, learners are more eager to come to school.
What has the government done so far?
Gwarube says the government has eliminated about 92% of the pit toilet backlog at about 4 000 schools nationwide.
However, there are still many schools and households with pit toilets, especially in deep rural areas.
According to Gwarube, the government will announce a monitoring tool in the next couple of weeks that they will use to track the progress of getting rid of pit toilets at schools.
“It’s not enough to simply say you have cleared a backlog. Things like infrastructure is something that you have to have a continuous look on.”
Siviwe Gwarube, Minister of Basic Education
She emphasised the importance of having live data about pit toilets at schools. Once the current backlog is cleared, continuous monitoring is essential.
Other government departments involved
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson said that his department will be working with the Department of Basic Education. They will also work with other government departments, the private sector, and civil society to use money for building toilets more effectively.
He stated that the private sector plays a significant role in helping the government to get rid of this concern.
“We have committed our department to do everything we can in conjunction with the Department of Basic Education to declare war on pit toilets once and for all and to remove them from our landscape.”
Minister Dean Macpherson
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