The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is baffled by the Department of Water and Sanitation’s failure to spend the budget allocated for the eradication of bucket toilets in the Free State and the Northern Cape. Findings by the office of the Auditor General have revealed how the department set a target to replace 12 221 bucket toilet systems in formal settlements five years ago in both provinces.  To date, only a paltry 1200 were upgraded despite funds that were reserved specifically for the project.

The department sat on millions of rands which are meant to restore the dignity of communities who have been using these inhumane facilities. At the center of the circus is poor planning and the lack of cooperation between stakeholders leading to countless delays where a fraction of the targets intended for a specific period were completed.  To add insult to injury is the need for infrastructure to make provisions for pipes, sewers and pumping stations. In the 2022/23 financial year for example, only R12 million of the R504 million was spent which is equivalent to a meagre 3% of upgraded toilets.

It is mind boggling that 30 years into democracy, there are citizens who are still enduring these conditions, especially when finances have been availed to rid them of such. Municipalities who are supposed to collect the buckets at least once a week are said to be defaulting on their rounds, making matters even worse.

We cannot afford to digress in the affirmation of basic human rights stated in the constitution. The bucket system is not only demeaning, it has also become a death trap which has robbed so many families of their loved ones. It also causes diseases and poor health, especially in children.

Michael Kompe was only five years old when he died after falling into the pit latrine at his school in Limpopo in 2015. His death inflicted unbearable pain to his family, the community and the country as a whole.  Sadly, Michael is not the only child that regrettably passed under these harrowing circumstances. These children should be a constant reminder of the immense immediacy that lies in the eradication of this system. 

COSATU is calling for accountability and the immediate implementation of proper sanitation to these communities. We trust that the new administration in the Department of Water and Sanitation will rectify the shortcomings of the previous administration and accelerate projects which have already been started. Sanitation in a form of a flushing toilet is a basic human right that cannot be circumvented.

Issued by COSATU

Zanele Sabela(COSATU National Spokesperson)

Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639

Email: zanele@cosatu.org.za