KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu has expressed confidence that following the resolution of the Provincial Executive Council adopted at the recent Lekgotla to establish the Premier’s Infrastructure Coordinating Commission, this province will move with speed to eradicate "once and for all" the bucket toilet system.
This follows Statistics SA report released recently showing that the use of the bucket toilet system had increased in three provinces between 2012 and 2013. According to Stats SA's Non-Financial Census of Municipalities, June 2013, the Eastern Cape, North West, and KwaZulu-Natal reported increases.
Premier remarked:
“During this term of office the focus is on the creation of comprehensive human settlements and eradication of slums and informal dwellings in the long term. This country has made significant advances in the delivery of 3.3 million houses nationally of which 514 604 were built in our province.”
“The provincial government is concerned that despite the fact that the bucket toilet system had been eradicated in 2012, Stats SA reports that by June 2013 there were 1 585 new households using this system.”
“This is the most humiliating system which we are determined to eradicate whenever and wherever it is reported. We are committed to ensuring that all spheres of government work with tighter coordination and sharper timetables to fast-track the construction of quality housing on suitable land, particularly in urban areas.”
“The proposed Premier’s Infrastructure Coordinating Commission would facilitate the speedy collective coordination of all infrastructure programmes and projects in the province. The Premier’s commission will seek to provide a platform for all national, provincial and key municipal infrastructure delivery agents to share information on and align long term infrastructure planning for the province.”
“We are committed to resolving challenges such as the protracted delays by the local, district and metropolitan municipalities, regarding:
- Provision of bulk infrastructure [water, sanitation and electricity], funded by district municipalities, to the areas whereon slum dwellers are living;
- Procurement of private land on which the slum dwellers are living illegally.
- Securing alternative well located land where the relocation of informal settlement inhabitants living in geo-technically adverse areas, is unavoidable.
“We are moving with speed with the slums clearance project because we have realised that slums makes it possible for people to use the bucket toilet system. On the 2nd September 2014, I will accompanied by the MEC for Human Settlement Ravi Pillay on a visit to the Jika Joe informal settlement in Mbali Township, Pietermaritzburg to assess the rollout of the slums clearance project.”
“To date, there are 114 slum clearance projects in the Province, located mostly in urban areas. Twenty-nine projects are currently under construction and 85 are undergoing various town planning and related planning activities. Seventy seven of the 114 slum clearance projects are located in the eThekwini Metro, of which most are in the Northern Region, under town planning and related planning activities, for 25,865 beneficiaries.”
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