Impoverished areas around the district of Sebokeng, south of Johannesburg, have existed on the doorstep of a major economic hub, without any trickle down of the benefits of South Africa's macro-economic stability. Residents of areas like Orange Farm and Evaton have for years suffered without basic services such as electricity and sanitation. Now, nearly 10 years after democracy, sanitation services are finally being rolled out to residents in these areas. In Evaton, where residents have had to endure the sewage bucket system for decades, a total of 126 prefabricated toilet structures connected to the waterborne sewer network and 41 prefabricated ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines have been installed over the past three weeks. VIPs have been used where no sewer pipes are present close to the stand. The Evaton project cost about R1.3 million (about US $187,485). For residents like Sophie Motaung, no longer having to use the often smelly, unventilated and unhygienic make-shift bucket system latrines, is priceless. Motaung (53) was born in Evaton and has lived there her entire life. She is unemployed and would not have had the means to pay for a connection to the waterborne sewer network herself. She told IRIN the newly installed toilet outside her home has made a remarkable difference to her life. "There's a huge difference in the [hygienic] issues. Also, with the old system, when it used to get full and if you had nobody around to help you, you could not move the structure. [The new toilet] makes daily life easier," she said. Her words were echoed by a group of residents nearby. They too use the toilet outside Motaung's home. Local council project manager Moses Maboya told IRIN that on average, between 15 and 18 people shared a toilet. "However, a much larger challenge must now be addressed. That is the elimination of approximately 3,400 pit latrines," he said. Many of the pit latrines have been erected by stand owners renting out shacks in their backyards. Tshediso Motlala, a water and sanitation project manager at the department of local government, told IRIN that "unemployment in these areas is high, the rentals [from shacks] is sometimes the stand owners only source of income". JOB CREATION ASPECT
The old pit latrine (on the right) has been replaced by a new and more hygienic ventilated toilet. |
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions