No sanitation at 2 115 schools

2002-11-06 20:44

Cape Town - Frustration among MPs over the slow rate at which adequate toilet facilities are being built at South Africa's rural schools boiled over on Wednesday during a meeting of parliament's water affairs portfolio committee.

The committee was being briefed by members of the national sanitation task team (NSTT) on progress towards achieving the government's commitment to work away South Africa's sanitation backlog by 2010.

This translates into providing adequate toilet facilities for an additional 18 million people over the next eight years.

Among NSTT members present was the national department of education's deputy director of planning, Schalk Meintjes, who bore the brunt of members' exasperation.

The provision of facilities at rural schools is supposed to be enjoying priority from government, following President Thabo Mbeki's focus on this in his state-of-the-nation address in February this year.

"Government will...allocate the necessary resources to ensure that no child studies under a tree.

"Consultations will be held with provincial administrations to ensure that this programme is put in place as a matter of urgency," he said at the time.

Through community-based public works department programmes, resources would be allocated for "massive restoration projects" in schools across the country, the president said.

Figures contained in a "Sanitation Report" presented by the NSTT to the committee on Wednesday showed there remain a total of 2 511 schools "without sanitation facilities".

It is not clear whether this figure includes those schools that have toilet facilities, but which are deemed inadequate or dangerous; the document also acknowledges there are a "large number (of schools) below basic level".

Meintjies told members the provision of toilet facilities at rural schools was not the responsibility of the national education department, but rather that of provincial MECs.

"The provincial legislature provides the funds to the provincial departments for the building of schools.

"Public works is responsible for the actual building," he said.

Meintjes was unable to confirm the extent of the sanitation backlog at rural schools, saying "the provincial departments were meant to submit this information to us".

"We have tried to get this information," Meintjes said.

African National Congress members, especially, were not happy with this reply.

ANC MP Jacobus van Wyk said it was not acceptable that there remained at this time "such a huge backlog in education sanitation".

Party colleague Stephen Phohlela echoed this sentiment, and said there appeared to be no "cohesion" between the responsible government departments.

McDonald Masala took this a step further, saying the lack of a "cohesive strategy" among the departments "very bad".

"What is the clear plan this department (education) has to address this backlog?" he asked.

MPs were surprised to hear from Meintjes what it cost to build a toilet, or even replace a toilet seat.

"A toilet seat costs, in the Northern Cape, R25 000; in the Western Cape, R15 000," he told astonished MPs.

This took into account all procurement costs, including transport.

In a report on sanitation prepared by his department, the cost of building a school toilet is stated as "R15 000 per individual toilet".

The Democratic Alliance's Graham McIntosh said these costs "seem exceptionally high".

Committee chairperson Buyelwa Sonjica said she could not understand how the department could operate an educational institution without ablution facilities.

"It doesn't make sense... It seems to me the department has interpreted this call for the building of classrooms so that learners are not under trees in a very limited way."

She said the education department had been lax in addressing the backlog at rural schools.

She described existing facilities at many rural schools as "a health hazard".

"I want you to take across this message, because we do not accept what you are saying here," she told Meintjes.

The department's interpretation was "very limited".

Members agreed, saying this was "ridiculous".

Conspicuously absent from Wednesday's briefing was the department of public works, which is responsible for building facilities at government schools.

Sonjica said after the meeting she had received no apology or excuse from the department, which had been invited to attend.

She intended to formally raise its absence with Public Works Minister Stella Sigcau.

Among other problems brought to the attention of members on Wednesday was the state of toilet facilities at many rural clinics.

According to department of health assistant director Jabulile Mhlophe, some of these are "so dilapidated that you can't call these facilities that can be used by people".

Most needed upgrading, she told members.

- SAPA