Minister Angie Motshekga hands over the newly built toilets as part of the Safe Initiative at Ubuhle Bemvelo Primary School in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal
The Minister of Basic Education Mrs Angie Motshekga will tomorrow, Tuesday, hand over more than 40 toilets to a school in KwaZulu-Natal. The new facilities are part of the roll out of Sanitation Appropriate for Education Initiative (SAFE) launched by President Ramaphosa in August 2018.
The SAFE Initiative was established as a direct response to school sanitation challenges faced by some of the country’s poorest schools. In the spirit of former President Nelson Mandela, President Ramaphosa implored upon the business community to partner with Government through their Corporate Social Investment to assist in restoring dignity to our children by eradicating pit latrines in schools.
Amalooloo is one of the companies that pledged support and have come good on their promise by building a total of 42 toilets at Ubuhle-Bemvelo Primary School, in Mtubatuba in Kwazulu Natal. The school, which has 1090 learners, received a donation of 18 toilets for the Boys, 18 for the girls and 6 for the Grade Rs (3 x boys, 3 x girls). The company demolished and provided a temporary solution at the school during the construction of the newly erected toilets. The construction is now complete and the toilets are ready for use.
The Minister of Basic Education Mrs Angie Motshekga is pleased to cordially invite you to the official hand over of the newly built toilets at Ubuhle-Bemvelo Primary School on Tuesday, 12 March 2019 in Mtubatuba in Kwazulu Natal.
Members of the media are invited to witness the handing of new toilets as aprt of the SAFE initiative as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 12 March 2019
Time: 10h00
Venue: Ubuhle-Bemvelo Primary School, St Lucia Road Khula Village, Mtubatuba, KZN (GPS Coordinates: 28° 22′ 43.784″ S, 32° 21′ 42.08″ E)
Since the launch of the SAFE Initiative by the President in August 2018, 787 schools have been provided with safe, age- and grade-appropriate sanitation facilities, with a further 841 schools either in planning, design or construction stages. It is important to remember that the eradication of pit-latrines did not start with the launch of the SAFE initiative. The department has since 2000, provided 10 621 schools with upgraded ablution facilities.
At the time of the launch of the SAFE initiative, there were 3898 schools that required appropriate sanitation interventions. However, many of these have specific requirements; for example no water-born sewage systems and thereby, require alternative sanitation technology. We are working with other departments to find the best sustainable solutions for these schools.
The verification process of the 3 898 schools with pit latrines will be undertaken first to determine the exact needs of each school; and which schools should be a priority. The DBE Programme Support Unit (PSU) will grade the severity of the infrastructure needs into the following 3 broad categories to facilitate prioritisation:
a. Red - a dire need for facilities, immediate intervention required;
b. Amber - partly functioning facilities, second wave of intervention; and
c. Green - reasonable functionality, only maintenance required.
The SAFE initiative will be delivered through an integrated delivery model, led by the DBE and working with and through the Provincial Education Departments in partnership with sister departments, such as the National and Provincial Treasuries, the Department of Water and Sanitation, and the national and provincial Departments of Public Works.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation and The National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) are amongst the partners who pledged their support. The NECT has been tasked with managing the implementation of the programme and to also manage the funds that are donated towards eradicating pit latrines.
We appreciate the support of the private sector, which has to date, pledged R256 million, towards the SAFE Initiative.
Additionally, National Treasury has allocated a total of R3.4 billion to the Initiative over the 2019 MTEF. We have identified clear timeframes and delivery models to ensure that while we are delivering sanitation infrastructure, this will also benefit local small businesses.
The department strongly believes that sanitation is dignity, and we are confident that within the next three years, we would have eradicated the remaining 3898 pit-latrines in schools.
Enquiries:
Elijah Mhlanga
Cell: 083 580 8275
Troy Martens
Cell: 079 899 3070
