The Democratic Alliance (DA) will closely monitor commitments made by the Dawid Kruiper municipality to address sanitation related human rights violations in Upington.
We take note that the municipality this week accompanied local businessman, Philip Bornman, to the site of prolonged sewerage leaks and blockages in Upington, that have carved out a stream through the town, ending up in the Orange River. This follows a direct instruction from Dr Henk Boshoff, at the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) provincial inquiry, to attend to its violation of residents’ rights to a clean and safe environment.
The sewerage problems in Dawid Kruiper are affecting numerous businesses and households. After years of trying to get the municipality to implement a sustainable solution to the sewerage crisis, we hope that renewed pressure on the municipality by the SAHRC will achieve long overdue results.
The DA will also keep a close eye on the management on the bucket toilets, which includes a commitment by the Municipal Manager, Mr Elias Ntoba, to ensure that bucket toilets are emptied at least once a week. The prolonged delays in removal are severely infringing on the dignity of residents.
According to municipal annual reports, the number of households using bucket toilets increased from 3049 toilets in 2021/2022 to 4875 in 2023/2024. Given that buckets continue to increase despite a commitment by government to eradicate these toilets, we will ask the MM to present council with a plan to provide alternative sanitation to the households, as was also instructed by the SAHRC.
The DA will further resubmit a motion that we tabled more than a decade ago, calling for bucket sanitation to be guided by a properly planned, documented and publicized schedule and that the minimum standard for basic sanitation services is adhered to. This includes the provision of appropriate health and hygiene education as well as the provision of toilets which are safe, provide privacy and protection against the weather, are well ventilated, keep smells to a minimum and prevent the easy entry and exit of flies and other disease-carrying pests.
Residents of Upington deserve to live in an environment that is free of sewage contamination, and experience service delivery that does not place their health and dignity at risk.