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Failure by Dawid Kruiper municipality to empty bucket toilets in New Heaven, Ward 6 and in Makweta Valley, Ward 13 for between three and four weeks, has not only highlighted inadequate sanitation services in and around Upington but also shines the spotlight on government’s failure to eradicate the inhumane bucket system.

The bucket system in Wards 6 and 13 has become unbearable. Buckets need to be emptied once a week, not once a month. The smell is sickening. Worms are breeding out in the overflowing buckets and attracting flies. 

Due to people’s homes being in close vicinity of their toilet facilities, the situation impacts on every aspect of their homelife.

Some residents opt to empty the overfull buckets in the veld, or even in their own yards. Others relieve themselves in the veld, presenting additional health and safety risks.

In a recent presentation by the Auditor-General’s office in parliament, it was revealed that the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) 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.

It is then little wonder why residents of New Heaven and Makweta Valley still experience the hardships of using a bucket. This does not, however, absolve the municipality from taking responsibility for the remaining buckets that remain within its jurisdiction.

The DA has been raising this issue in the municipal committee for years, and last week again, without efficient and regular service delivery or a permanent solution being found.

The DA will address the resumption of sanitation services with the Speaker and submit a formal request for a round-table meeting between the municipality, COGHSTA and DWS. The matter will also be referred to the DA’s provincial spokesperson of COGHSTA, to take up in the legislature. In addition to ensuring that buckets are regularly emptied, we need to understand why bucket eradication targets remain unmet in Dawid Kruiper.

No one should have to live next to their faeces, especially as government should by now have eradicated the bucket system.

Issued by Sam Sandlana, Cllr - Dawid Kruiper Municipality