The Mangaung Metro Municipality in the Free State says it has put in place plans to upgrade sanitation infrastructure in Thaba Nchu and Botshabelo.
This comes after residents of Thaba Nchu protested against municipal authorities’ failure to empty their toilets for months.
The metro’s spokesperson, Qondile Khedama, says they have allocated R305 million for the development of infrastructure that will assist in eradicating pit toilets in Thaba Nchu.
“Thaba Nchu is vast and this is one area that also needs attention. Yes, the issue of Botshabelo, I know that the MMC technical services is currently dealing with it and the issue of infrastructure, if you can look at because they are intertwined. If you don’t link them together, this is what we get from technical services MMC that they have to be linked so that there is an impact in terms of service delivery, particularly in Thaba Nchu.”
But the issues of pit latrines stretch much wider. The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, reported that government has eradicated 96% of pit toilets at the 3 600 schools they identified across the country.
Gwarube visited schools in Limpopo’s Vhembe district in April this year to monitor progress in constructing safe latrines at schools.
The SAFE programme was launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018 and the deadline for eradication was March 31, 2025.
VIDEO | Gwarube commits to eradicating pit latrines:
