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The Democratic Alliance (DA) will request the Office of the Auditor-General to conduct a forensic investigation into current and past expenditure on the bucket eradication programme in the Northern Cape.

This comes amidst a shock announcement by the Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, that government has allocated R120 million for the eradication of 540 bucket toilets in Campbell, translating into a cost of R222 000 per eradication of a single unit.

While Census 2022 pinpoints the Northern Cape as having the highest number of households using buckets as their primary toilet facility, the DA has no faith in government to effectively utilize further allocated funds to address long outstanding sanitation backlogs.

Government has a string of unmet targets for bucket eradication dating back to 2006 and 2015. In 2016, R21 million was allocated for bucket eradication in Dawid Kruiper, but yet in the region of 7000 informal households are still without toilets in this municipality and many people continue to suffer the indignity of unmaintained, unhygienic and unsafe bucket toilets.

Last year, the country celebrated World Toilet Day in Siyancuma and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) rather handed out toilet rolls and toilet brushes to residents who don't have toilets instead of focusing on eradicating buckets. That was after it came to light in a presentation by the Auditor-General, that the DWS had again failed to meet its target of eradicating the bucket toilet system. Of the allocated amount of just over R292 million for the eradication of bucket toilets in the Northern Cape and the Free State, only R49 million, or 17% of the budget, was spent.

Aside from poor financial and project management in relation to bucket eradication in the Northern Cape, government also still has a dark cloud hanging over its head in respect of a questionable tender awarded over a decade ago, to a company known as Siyenza. It is alleged that the company, found to have a fraudulent tax clearance certificate, cost government R185 million and had zero impact on bucket eradication.

Given the track record of bucket eradication in the province and the latest multi-million rand allocation, the DA is increasingly concerned that the ruling party is using the bucket eradication programme as a slush fund.

While the DA has for years raised our concerns regarding bucket eradication in municipalities, the legislature, COGHSTA, the DWS and parliament, accountability is still severely lacking.

The DA will request the AG’s office to initiate a forensic investigation into the programme in the province, to determine exactly what has happened to the millions allocated towards bucket toilet eradication in the province over the years. In addition, we also have many questions in relation to the Campbell project and want to know where the money is coming from, who the contractor is, exactly where the toilets are that are to be eradicated and who the beneficiaries are. We also want to know what sanitation infrastructure is available and why the cost per unit is so exorbitant. We will not leave this unchallenged and, even though the legislature is on recess, we will submit urgent questions directly to the Premier.

Issued by Harold McGluwa, MPL - DA Northern Cape Provincial Leader