Cape Town - After six years of steady decline, the Covid-19 pandemic saw the number of municipal bucket toilet users nationally jump from 42 434 in 2019 to 47 130 in 2020.
Activists say one of the main causes of this is land occupations in various provinces.
StatsSA this week announced that increases in the use of bucket toilets were reported in seven of South Africa’s 257 municipalities, with the Free State recording the biggest rise.
Municipalities provide bucket toilets to communities as a temporary measure while more permanent forms of sanitation are in development.
StatsSA noted that the City of Cape Town managed to eradicate municipal serviced bucket toilets entirely, reducing the number from 84 in 2019 to zero in 2020.
This might not be the case on the ground, however.
In Mfuleni, Burundi informal settlement resident Nobulali Zono said the area's residents were using their own bucket system.
The settlement comprises residents from other provinces, mainly the Eastern Cape.
“We will never get used to these kinds of toilets.
“Number one, there is no privacy, and it is used by a lot of people who at times don't even bother cleaning them.
“As a lady who has to use these kinds of toilets, there are many things I consider before using them, such as hygiene and diseases, but I have no choice but to use them.
“It's really frustrating. We use them not because we like them, but we are being forced by the situation we live in.
“It’s been years since government officials and ward councillors promised us to get rid of these bucket toilets, but the situation still remains the same,” said Zono
Another Burundi resident, Thembalethu Zweni, said he had no hope for change.
Zweni said he had been living in the area for more than six years.
“I don't think you would survive the smell here during the summer.
“It's unbearable, and these bucket toilets are not safe at all for children.
“That is why we take them (to relieve themselves) in open fields, but even that is not safe. But it is a bit better than bucket toilets.
“If we could get a specialist, we would find out that those who are sick here, it is because of these toilets.
“Once it's summer, you see worms on the site. Just imagine how disgusting that is, and yet, we have to use those toilets.
“People who live in informal settlements have no one but themselves.
The government has proven that by ignoring our needs and our cries.
“During election time, they target our areas because they know that we are the majority and we want to change,” said Zweni.
Community activist Loyiso Nkohla urged the national, provincial, and local governments to have a proper and well-coordinated approach on the issue of the bucket toilets system.
About eight years ago Nkohla became nortorious when, as a member of the Ses'khona Peoples Rights Movement, he spearheaded poo-flinging demonstrations around Cape Town.
“Remember the time Thabo Mbeki was still a president? He made an announcement that by 2014, they must have eradicated the bucket system in the country.
“Nearly 10 years later, the bucket system has not improved. Instead, it has worsened.
“The statistics from Stats SA are correct that the bucket system is worsening.
“In fact, there are still schools in rural areas in the Eastern Cape that are still using it. I can simply say that all the government spheres have absolutely no clear plan on how to eradicate the question of the bucket system,” said Nkohla.
“In Khayelitsha, Site C and Site B people have been using a bucket system since 1987, many governments have been coming in and out, City, provincial and national administration has been changing in and out, but there is no change, and there is no hope that there will be a change of such situation,” he said.
Social Justice Coalition (SJC) spokesperson Thando George said there had been an increase in land occupations due to a lack of affordable housing in well-located land, and this had resulted in poor, black people seeking alternative forms of housing.
“Unfortunately, some communities end up occupying land that is unsuitable, and as a result, local government cannot provide water and sanitation services. Even in these instances, local government should provide temporary sanitation solutions.
“However, the issue of unsuitable land is used to justify service delivery failures. These delays leave residents with no other option but to use buckets or the open field to relieve themselves. No one should be subjected to using the bucket system. It is an assault on the right to human dignity.
“The lack of adequate access to water and sanitation services is degrading to black people.
“Many challenges arise from the lack of access to dignified sanitation services. These are issues around poor hygiene practices. In addition, Some communities don’t even have the bucket system and use open fields, this exposes people to the risk of robbery and physical and sexual assault, yet this is an unavoidable daily task.
“Access to water and sanitation services that are dignified and safe continues to be a challenge for millions across South Africa, especially for residents in Townships and informal settlements,” George said.
City Mayco member for Water and Sanitation, Zahid Badroodien said to date there were 84, 25l black bucket toilets still in operation.
BoysTown in Nyanga has 77; Morkel’s Cottage in Strand has two; and Rasta Camp in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village has five.
In 2010 the City had 3 500 of the 25l black buckets.
“This is a major decrease from previous years,” said Badroodien.
“It is always the City’s preference to provide full flush toilets to informal settlements where legally and physically possible to do so. Factors such as space and constraints including whether the land is privately owned, situated in a wetland, or on a sand dune, need to be considered when providing full flush toilets. Full flush toilets can only be installed in certain parts of an informal settlement where there is space for laying of pipes or construction of toilet blocks and they need to be connected to the sewer network.”
Badroodien added that some buckets were still in use because in the past residents refused to accept Portable Flush Toilets (PFTs) as an option due to cultural reasons.
Other residents preferred toilets to be on the outside of their households rather than inside.
The Informal Settlements Basic Services Branch was also currently rolling out container-based toilets and full flush toilets to these communities where it was legally suitable and physically possible to do so.
Cape Times