GRAPHIC: Western Cape use of bucket toilets rose over past year

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Cape Town - Dejected informal settlement residents still using bucket toilets have expressed no surprise at learning that the Western Cape recorded an increase in the provision of such toilets. This follows the release of a non-financial census for municipalities by Statistics SA of the provision of service delivery which showed an increase in the distribution of bucket toilets in the province. The Department of Water and Sanitation’s Sputnik Ratau said the majority of bucket toilets were in informal settlements, with around 11000 being used in formal settlements nationally. Driving on the N2 past Taiwan informal settlement in Khayelitsha, and Europe and Barcelona settlements in Nyanga, scenes of people squatting in bushes to relieve themselves are common. Barcelona resident Thembela Damba, 37, said people in her community preferred to use the bushes because they don’t feel safe or cannot stand the condition of the toilets.

“The struggle for decent toilets has been one that we have fought for, for years and years and each time we are forced to make do because we are poor,” she said.

“To relieve yourself in a bucket already full of another person’s faeces cannot be our reality 24 years into democracy.”





The Social Justice Coalition, which has been in a protracted court battle with the City of Cape Town at the Equality Court over its plans for the provision of toilets to informal settlement, is outraged.

The organisation’s Dalli Weyers said it was disappointing that the Western Cape had relatively low numbers in terms of the use of bucket toilets yet recorded an increase.

“They started with a small backlog in sanitation and so in many ways it has not performed as well as other provinces that have made major strides in addressing huge backlogs,” he said.

“In the city itself, some of our work has shown that despite the city’s pro-poor budget, when they talk about capital spent for water and sanitation, these are big projects for bulk water provision.

“We have started showing that the percentage for water and sanitation budget that would ultimately be spent on full flush toilets is diminishing over time and is pitifully small.”

Weekend Argus