ON Sunday, 19 October, the world celebrated World Toilet’s Day.
This is a commemoration held annually, where people cherish the privilege of having proper sanitation.
But for Mzansi, this is a bitter reminder that the country still has close to 1 000 schools without proper toilets, while other schools still use pit latrines.
Promises and postponements from the government to have them eradicated have continued to become the order of the day. This while pupils mostly in primary schools situated in rural areas continue to be subjected to an everyday death trap when they want to use what is meant to be their basic human right.
Since 2013, four pit toilet death made headlines, leading to an uproar and the government promising to eradicate them.
- Seven-year-old Lister Magongwa died in 2013 after the walls of a toilet collapsed on him at Mmushi Primary School in Limpopo.
- This was followed by five-year-old Michael Komape, who drowned in a pit toilet in 2014 at Mahlodumela Primary School in Limpopo. Komape’s death led to the Limpopo High Court ruling in favour of his family in 2021 and ordering the Department of Basic Education to provide, within 90 days, a detailed list of all schools in Limpopo with pit toilets, as well as plans to eradicate them. His family was also awarded R1,4 million in damages by the Supreme Court of Appeal.
- Another pupil, Siyamthanda Mtunu (6), died in 2017 after the walls of a toilet collapsed on him at Dalasile Primary School in the Eastern Cape, while in 2018 in the same province a five-year-old Lumka Mkhethwa drowned in a pit latrine at Luna Primary School.
- The tragic death of four-year-old Langalam Viki in a pit latrine on her school’s premises earlier this year sparked questions on the government's speedy effort to eradicate the pit toilets.
In 2016, five-year-old Oratilwe Dilwane fell into a pit latrine at Tlhotlheletsang Primary School in the North West. Unlike other children, Oratilwe was luckily to have lived to tell the tale.
Daily Sun recently visited Dikeledi Makapan Primary School in the North West, which was built in 1978 by the community. According to the School Governing Body (SGB), the school was recently built new toilets, which relied on electricity to be able to pump water.
SGB member Philisiwe Mbatha said due to relentless power cuts, the school toilets are always blocked and this have led to some of the pupils falling ill and some skipping school when there is no electricity to pump water.
She said the matter was brought to the attention of the department, but nothing has since been done about it.
She also raised concern that the department was allegedly refusing to let people to come and see the state of the school so they could get help.
This comes after the SunTeam was chased out from the premises of the school, even after being in the guidance of the SGB and the ward councillor.
“We're pleading for the government to stop trying to protect themselves and allow people who want to fix our school to come in and see the state of it and offer help.
“Clearly on their own as the government they're failing and need the help of private companies, but those companies won’t know if the media is not showing the true state of our schools,” she said.
What has the government done so far to attend to the pit toilet death trap? This is a question most people ask themselves.
Speaking on behalf of the government, DBE communication for infrastructure, Albert Gumbo said the department has launched two programmes to address infrastructure concerns in schools.
He said Safe initially targeted 3 898 schools and to date the department has delivered 2 950 projects.
“We're very happy with what is going on in terms of the ability to provide safe sanitation for the children in our schools.”
He said with the remaining schools they were well on their way to meeting their target. He promised that in the next two coming financial years, 2023/24 and 2024/25, they would have eradicated all pit toilets and fixed the inappropriate ones.
Gumbo told Daily Sun that the reason for the delay comes from the budget, planning and following the prescript of tenders.
He also said construction mafias have also played a role in the delay of building toilets in some of the schools.
“About two months ago, I went to a school where work was stopped for months because there were three constructions groups hampering the work, but the government is working in solving the problem,” he said.
Gumbo also referenced that they have also been working with several private companies, who have assisted in some of the project, such as Unilever.
“Through our partnership with Unilever, last week alone we have been able to hand over three toilets in three schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal.”
Speaking on the recent handing over Mandisa Mbenenge from Unilever under Domestos Purpose Lead said with this year's World Toilet Day global theme, "Accelerating Change", the maintenance of existing facilities has become a crucial but often neglected aspect of the sanitation ecosystem.
“While building new toilets is a step forward, the stride becomes incomplete without a sustainable plan for maintenance. This World Toilet Day, we're focusing on the entire lifespan of these essential facilities because their upkeep is as vital as their construction.”
Mbenege said they have revamped the sanitary facilities of three schools in Umlazi, Durban: Khuthala Primary School, IsiKhumbuzo Primary School, and Isithokoziso Primary School.
“The refurbished facilities will benefit thousands of pupils at all three schools, providing them with a safe, hygienic environment that is conducive to learning and growth,” she said.
One of the pupils at Khuthala Primary School, Philasande Masoka (10) told Daily Sun she was happy with new revamped toilets at her school.
She said the older toilets made them sick and they were sometimes forced not to use them because they were not in good state.
“We had to wait in a long queue because sometimes only one toilet would be working. We would get sick because of the germs,” she said.
Former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi, who was part of the handing over, said schools that still used pit toilets trigger her childhood memories, when she and her sibling feared going to the toilets because they were pit latrines.
“My sister and I feared to use our toilet because we were scared that we might fall inside the pit. I understand better the importance of schools having proper toilets to avoid what we went through,” she said.
