Schoolkids still use pit toilets

MZANSI kids still face the dangers of using pit toilets.

The United Democratic Movement (UDM) raised concerns about the use of pit toilets and lashed the Basic Education Department for failing to meet the eradication deadline.

Joburg UDM councillor Yongama Zigebe said the failure isn't just a missed deadline, but an extension of a health hazard for kids.

"The deadline, set for 31 March 2025, has once again come and gone, leaving thousands of pupils exposed to unsafe and undignified conditions," he said.

The department initially set a deadline of 31 March 2023 but has since extended it multiple times.

Zigebe said the tragic case of a five-year-old pupil who drowned in a pit latrine in the Eastern Cape in 2014 should have been a wake-up call, but government continues to move at an unacceptably slow pace after years of court battles and repeated extensions.

"Reports from civil society indicate that many schools, particularly in rural provinces like Limpopo and Eastern Cape remain without proper sanitation. Some schools rely on unsafe and unhygienic mobile toilets, which are not a viable solution," he said.

He pointed out that in some cases, there aren't enough toilets to accommodate all pupils and they aren't properly maintained.

According to media reports, almost 11 000 schools across the country still lack a single flushing toilet and hundreds of schools have no running water.

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Zigebe said pupils are forced to use unsafe facilities, creating serious hygiene and health risks. "Government's continued failure to address this crisis with urgency is unacceptable."

The UDM demands, among other things, a new, transparent national audit of all schools still relying on pit latrines with the results made publicly available, an accountability mechanism to track progress and ensure responsible officials are held accountable for ongoing failures and increased collaboration between government, civil society and the private sector to accelerate sanitation projects.

Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube recently told Parliament that the department reached a 93% completion rate in eradicating pit latrines based on the 2018 safe initiative audit.

The initiative was launched to eliminate unsafe toilets at schools.

However, civil society organisations, including Section27 have raised serious concerns that the 2018 audit used to track progress is outdated and many schools still operating with pit toilets have been overlooked.

Zigebe said South Africa can't afford another empty promise.

"The dignity and safety of our children must come first. The UDM will continue to monitor this issue closely and hold government accountable for ensuring that no pupil is forced to endure these inhumane conditions any longer," he added.