Sanitation department ‘optimistic’ it can kick the bucket

THE bucket system is still widespread in most provinces in the country, with more than two million households still using buckets or sanitation “below basic levels”, according to the Department of Water and Sanitation.

The Western Cape and the Free State provinces currently house more than half the 140 148 households in informal settlements still on the bucket system, while an estimated 88 127 households in formal areas still utilise buckets as a form of sanitation.

The Free State is also home to the most formal areas currently using the bucket system.

KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Gauteng are the only three provinces with no bucket toilets in formal areas.

Briefing Parliament yester- day, Department of Water and Sanitation director-general Margaret Ann Diedricks said while there were some successes, the country still had an “enormous” backlog, with millions still using sanitation facilities “below the basic level”.

This includes pit latrines, septic tanks, chemical toilets or no sanitation facility at all.

“South Africa met its Millennium Development Goals on sanitation in 2010, with 78 percent of the population having access to sanitation.

“Notwithstanding the fact that there are about 300 000 households that are served with sanitation by various spheres of government, and I think this is important,” said Diedricks.

She said in provinces such as KZN and Gauteng, which have ballooning informal settlements, this contributed to the difficulty in providing adequate sanitation.

“Of course the migration into those urban provinces is also accepted as one of the difficulties. There are significant sanitation backlogs in the Northern Cape, Free State, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and the North West.

She said they were optimistic that the department would be able to accelerate the programme and achieve its targets.

ANC MP Justice Mnguni congratulated the department for “the wonderful transition”.

EFF MP Sibongile Khawula questioned the department’s figures on the use of the bucket system in KZN informal settlements.

Last year, Statistics South Africa reported a 6.2 percent increase in sewerage and sanitation service provision in the country between 2012 and 2013.