Hon Deputy Speaker, 13 months ago the department of education in Limpopo undertook to eradicate pit toilets at schools in Limpopo by the end of March 2014. In support of the 2012-13 budget speech of his MEC for education, the then spokesperson, Phuti Seloba, said the following:
Come the end of 2014 ...
... after the dates were extended again ...
... there will be no school with pit or bucket toilet in Limpopo.
Yet, just 13 months later a Grade 5 learner last week fell into a pit toilet at Leubaneng Primary School in Bakenberg near Mokopane, sustaining injuries. Four toilets which have to be shared by both male and female learners, of whom there are 530 in total, is not even in accordance with the department's own norms and standards on infrastructure. [Interjections.] It actually amounts to one toilet for every 66 learners - not acceptable!
It is unacceptable that learners are forced to use hazardous ablution facilities with the risk of injury or serious infection. It is a serious problem across Limpopo province, where 48,6% of all school learners are made to use pit latrines during school days.
Where the DA governs in the Western Cape, school learners enjoy the highest access to flush toilets, at 98,6%. [Time expired.]
