Department of Water and Sanitation closes in on the bucket toilet systems
The Department of Water and Sanitation has eradicated 78.8% of the bucket system in formal settlements in South Africa. Seven provinces have performed excellently with an average 90% eradication.
Those that have achieved total eradication in formal settlements are KwaZulu Natal, North West, Mpumalanga and Gauteng. The Western Cape has reached 99.8% clearance.
The figures were released by Minister Nomvula Mokonyane in Cape Town yesterday before the parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation
She said the provinces that achieved less than 80% were Free State and Northern Cape where only 68% and 26% of buckets have been eradicated respectively.
Mokonkonyane said her department experienced challenges which led to the inability to achieve set targets in the Free State and Northern Cape Provinces, these ranged from community labour based disputes to contractors encountering 'hard rock' conditions in the Northern Cape. These are some of the factors that have contributed to the delays.
Interventions are in place to address the challenges experienced include the deployment of specialised equipment to deal with the hard rock conditions and the introduction of standardised project rates on various aspects of the project at the inception of the programme.
Minister Mokonyane said that for the bucket eradication project to be a complete success, collaboration with other departments, local authorities and communities is highly essential.
To date a total of 15 544 bucket systems have been eradicated out of the 57 329 remaining backlog. Of the remaining units, 4 275 will be completed in December 2015 and 37 510 will be done by March 2016.
For more information contact:
Sputnik Ratau
Cell: 082 874 2942
Mlimandlela Ndamase
Cell: 081 0330701
E-mail: NdamaseM@dws.gov.za
