SA’s biggest toilet scandal
‘ A serious problem that negatively impacts on the democratic culture we aspire to build’ – Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
IT HAS been 10 months since the ministerial sanitation task team completed its report but the proposed plan of action has not been implemented.
The report revealed people in several provinces continue to use pit toilets and great numbers shared toilets. It also revealed the dangers people face relieving themselves in the veld in areas where there were no toilets.
Sowetan visited areas in Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and North West which were highlighted in the report and discovered the residents ’ situation remained unchanged despite the government being aware of their living conditions.
The sanitation report, prepared by the team led by ANC MP Winnie Madikizela-Mandela for the Human Settlements Department, is now in the process of being combined with another sanitation report.
Although government insists that “work is happening ” on tackling the country ’ s sanitation problems, government could not give Sowetan a progress report based on Madikizela-Mandela ’ s recommendations.
The report ’ s proposed plan of action includes the establishment of a sanitation agency by April this year, creating a national budget dedicated to the sanitation programme by June this year and the development of a national sanitation policy or legislation by June this year.
Human settlements spokesman Xolani Xundu told Sowetan that the report was tabled in Parliament towards the end of last year and a cabinet committee recommended that it be combined with Monitoring Minister Collins Chabane ’ s depart-
‘ Having travelled across the country, listened to the outcry of our people about their dissatisfaction with service delivery and improper sanitation facilities I can unequivocally state that we have a serious problem that threatens to have a negative impact not only on the health of this nation but on the very democratic culture we aspire to build.’ – Winnie MadikizelaMandela in the foreword to the sanitation report
ment ’ s 2012 report on the status of sanitation services in South Africa.
Xundu said that was “in the process of being finalised ” and the combined report would then be resubmitted to Parliament.
He said it forms part of the development of a sanitation master plan that his department was working on that will tell the government how to deal with sanitation problems and will be the basis of the strategic infrastructure project focusing on water and sanitation.
Water and sanitation is the focus of one of the 18 strategic infrastructure projects developed last year by the presidential infrastructure coordinating commission as part of the national infrastructure plan.
“Once the sanitation master plan is approved by Parliament it will become an official programme of government and people will see a difference in their living conditions,” Xundu said.
He could not give an estimate on when the sanitation master plan will be finalised, saying only “it is being prepared with the urgency it requires ”.
Chabane ’ s spokesman Harold Maloka said his department was working with human settlements but “it is the function and responsibility of the Department of Human Settlements to ensure sanitation delivery which conforms to set norms and standards and implement a proposed plan of action ”.