MZANSI'S PIT TOILET HORROR!
Tshwane residents continue to suffer from completely collapsed service delivery. Hammanskraal is the worst affected, with over 100 villages lacking consistent water flow and proper sewage systems.
Residents use dangerous pit toilets that have resulted in kids' deaths. Despite multiple investigations by the Department of Water and Sanitation, the Human Rights Commission, and the Public Protector, nothing has actually changed.
Reineth Matsana (56) says they are tired of pit toilets. Photo by Kgalalelo Tlhoaele
Reineth Matsana (56) says they are tired of pit toilets. Photo by Kgalalelo Tlhoaele
Some residents install French drains costing R20 000, plus R1 000 for regular maintenance. These drains create serious environmental risks. Residents were promised flushing toilets back in 2011, but nothing happened.
Kgalalelo Tlhoaele
Kgalalelo Tlhoaele
"I built another toilet and it’s also getting full."
GOGO URGES GOVT TO REFLECT!
On World Toilet Day, 19 November, the Water and Sanitation Department urged residents to value sanitation facilities, aiming for the UN goal of universal sanitation by 2030.
In Bosplaas West, North West, residents still use pit toilets. Gogo Sinah Setshedi (66) has lived without proper sanitation since 1989, struggling with eight grandkids in unsafe conditions. She often buys chemicals to prevent smell and flies.
Gogo Sinah Setshedi says government should use World Toilet Day to reflect on people who are still using pit latrines. Photo by Raymond Morare
Gogo Sinah Setshedi says government should use World Toilet Day to reflect on people who are still using pit latrines. Photo by Raymond Morare
Thabiso Mogale (32) moved his kids elsewhere due to health risks. Department spokesman Sputnik Ratau acknowledged that 2,8 million households lack improved sanitation services, advocating for better-managed systems beyond just flushing toilets.
Kgalalelo Tlhoaele
Kgalalelo Tlhoaele
Gogo Elisa Modise. Video by Trevor Kunene
Gogo Elisa Modise. Video by Trevor
Govt promises VIP toilets
Thirty years after democracy, rural Free State communities still struggle with inadequate sanitation.
In Thabo Mofutsanyana region, villages like Bolata, Naledi, Maboshwane, and Mmakong, face severe health risks from pit toilets due to absent sewage systems. Manese Mahamotsa (52), who has lived there since 1992, said politicians only visit them during elections, making empty sanitation promises.
Despite promises, real progress hinges on continued infrastructure investment. Photo by Joseph Mokoaledi
Despite promises, real progress hinges on continued infrastructure investment. Photo by Joseph Mokoaledi
Sello Mokoena describes how pit toilets strip away dignity and privacy, forcing kids to breathe foul air daily. The situation highlights an urgent need for sustainable sanitation solutions. Maluti-a-Phofung MMC Ditaba Nhlapo announced 5 000 VIP toilets allocated for various villages, acknowledging community frustrations.
Joseph Mokoaledi
Joseph Mokoaledi
Pit toilets are stripping away our dignity!
Most South Africans still use pit toilets, including daycare centres.
At Malesa Daycare Centre in Limpopo's Malesa Village, principal Salome Mamabolo said their two pit toilets built in 2014 lack doors and roofs. Staff constantly monitor kids to prevent them from falling into the pits.
The principal of Malesa Daycare Centre, Salome Mamabolo, says she used old iron to build a pit toilet for her kids. Photo by Mankaleme Thema.
The principal of Malesa Daycare Centre, Salome Mamabolo, says she used old iron to build a pit toilet for her kids. Photo by Mankaleme Thema.
They received a donated four-section toilet last year. Resident Lesiba Maredi applied for a free toilet in 2016 but received no feedback, describing how the inadequate facilities strip away his family's dignity, especially during rainy weather.
Mankaleme Thema
Mankaleme Thema
Gogo's heartfelt wish for flushing toilet!
Story by Bulelwa Ginindza - Freelancer
Gogo Thokozile Phiri (67) from KaBokweni, Mpumalanga, feels betrayed. This after she received a deceptive pit toilet designed to resemble a flushing toilet with her RDP house 10 years ago.
The shallow pit fills frequently, requiring expensive cleaning services. Despite water supply once weekly, she dreams of a proper flushing toilet after 30 years of democracy. Department spokesman Freddy Ngobe said they build both toilet types depending on infrastructure availability and beneficiary choice, noting Mpumalanga's rural nature means pit toilets will persist.
Gogo Thokozile Phiri's pit toilet nightmare continues. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza
Gogo Thokozile Phiri's pit toilet nightmare continues. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza. Photo by Bulelwa Ginindza
Meanwhile, the Education Department spent R80 million eradicating school pit latrines, with three schools still requiring demolition.
Bulelwa Ginindza
Bulelwa Ginindza
Struggle continues for pupils!
Story by Judas Sekwela | Freelancer
Ntibaneng Secondary School in Limpopo's Sekopung Village struggles with inadequate sanitation.
With 72 pupils enrolled, the school has only four shared pit toilets. Boys risk snake attacks by going to bushes when toilets are occupied, while girls suffer most, often holding themselves until reaching home. Pupils fear the deteriorating, doorless toilets may collapse or hide snakes.
Pupils at Ntibaneng Secondary School don’t feel safe when using pit toilets.
Pupils at Ntibaneng Secondary School don’t feel safe when using pit toilets.
The school hired two mobile toilets at their own expense, but it's insufficient. Former SGB chairwoman Rebecca Mametja calls the situation heartbreaking. Education Department spokeswoman Mosebjane Kgaffe acknowledged the challenges, revealing plans to merge the school in 2021 due to low enrollment, but consultations stalled.
Pit toilets continue to claim lives!
Pit toilets remain deadly for South African kids. While the world celebrates safe sanitation gains, Mzansi mourns kids lost to unsafe school toilets.
Tragic deaths include Oratilwe Dilwane (5) who died after falling into a pit toilet. Unecebo Mboteni (3) died in 2024. Lister Magongwa (7) was killed by a collapsing toilet in 2013, and Michael Komape (5) drowned in a pit toilet in 2014.
Oratilwe Dilwane succumbed to her injuries eight years after she fell into a pit toilet at Tlhotlheletsang Primary School, North West.
Oratilwe Dilwane succumbed to her injuries eight years after she fell into a pit toilet at Tlhotlheletsang Primary School, North West.
Komape's death led to court orders for toilet eradication and R1,4 million damages. Despite legal rulings, Limpopo still has the highest pit toilet numbers. Other deaths include Siyamthanda Mtunu, Lumka Mkhethwa, and Langalam Viki, highlighting government failures.
Kgomotso Medupe
Kgomotso Medupe
Minister’s bold stance against pit toilets!
Mzansi faces ongoing school sanitation challenges. The Department of Basic Education's SAFE initiative aims to eradicate 230 remaining pit toilets by March 2025, receiving R4,3 billion over four years with R922 million allocated currently.
Minister Siviwe Gwarube has prioritised elimination through rigorous monitoring and site visits. However, Build One South Africa reports 10 938 schools lack flushing toilets and 383 lack running water, highlighting systemic inequality.
Siviwe Gwarube, the Minister of Basic Education, vows to eradicate school pit toilets.
Siviwe Gwarube, the Minister of Basic Education, vows to eradicate school pit toilets.
Despite 2013 regulations prohibiting pit toilets and a 2016 elimination deadline, government has repeatedly failed to meet targets. Water shortages continue hindering progress toward universal safe sanitation access.
Kgomotso Medupe
Kgomotso Medupe
“Where we find delays or deviations from the plan, the minister is committed to acting decisively to get projects back on track." -
Basic Education Department spokesman Lukhanyo Vangqa
School toilets of shame and terror!
South Africa faces bitter reality with nearly 1 000 schools lacking proper toilets despite government promises since 2013's four pit toilet deaths.
Dikeledi Makapan Primary School's new toilets fail during power cuts, causing illness and absenteeism. Government's SAFE initiative has delivered 2 950 of 3 898 targeted projects since 2018. Spokesman Albert Gumbo promises complete eradication by 2024/25, blaming delays on budgets, tenders, and construction mafias.
School pit toilets.
School pit toilets.
Private partnerships like Unilever have assisted, recently handing over three refurbished toilet facilities in KZN schools. Former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi shared childhood fears of falling into pit latrines.
Kgomotso Medupe
Kgomotso Medupe
SUNSAYS - Why kids still die in school toilet hell!
Amos Mananyetso - Editor-in-Chief
ANOTHER day in the limping South Africa, another child dies in the most horrible way possible.
And what makes me even angrier is that the Eastern Cape government, through the spokeswoman of the provincial education department, are making statements that suggest that the child deserved it.
What kind of reasoning is this?
Parents and the whole community just lost an innocent child who possibly can’t differentiate between right and wrong, and our government makes these kinds of statements.
Why do we still have pit toilets, to start with?
We have had a democratic government for almost 30 years, yet our people, especially schoolkids, are still subjected to these appalling sanitary conditions. And this is not the first time that a child has died in this manner in the Eastern Cape.
In 2018, a five-year-old pupil, Lumka Mketwa from a primary school in Bizana also met her death in a pit toilet that should have been long eradicated.
Her death shone the spotlight on our sanitation problems in communities, especially rural schools. A similar incident happened almost 10 years ago in Limpopo.
Michael Komape, who was five at the time of his avoidable death, has become the face of this shameful legacy of our government.
The amount of rage at the time, in 2014, gave rise to hopes that our politicians would be jolted into action and move with speed.
Instead, it was the same politicians who were caught in corruption scandals involving the delivery of sanitation to depressed communities.
Reacting to this self-made tragedy, Amnesty International said there was no political will by the country’s government to improve the situation.
Who can disagree with them?
The social justice organisation says more than 3 000 public schools in this country still use pit toilets.
I wish I could say these senseless deaths should be stopped. But with billions of rands being returned to the national Treasury by incompetent government departments every year, all I can say is that don’t hold your breath!
Contributers:
Editor-in-Chief - Amos Mananyetso | Deputy editor - Doreen Molefe | News editor - Stephens Molobi | Production manager - Wendy Mathebula | Revise Sub - Solomon Mahapha & Desmond Pitoyi | Layout - Thabiso Nkosi | Content managers | Kgomotso Medupe - journalist | Judas Sekwela - freelancer| Joseph Mokoaledi - freelancer | Bulelwa Ginindza - freelancer | Trevor Kunene - Photographer and Video | Morapedi Mashashe - Photographer
