Access to safe sanitation is not just a matter of comfort or convenience; it is a fundamental human right

The Covid-19 crisis has exposed the raw realities of South Africa’s under-resourced public schools

Technology has the potential to solve many of the country’s social problems such as electricity production and the eradication of pit latrines

Supreme Court of Appeal says the attitude of the education authorities “to be deprecated in the strongest possible terms”

How do the courts ensure proper compensation for the loss of Uyinene Mrwetyana and Michael Komape

The Supreme Court of Appeal this week heard argument on why the law, as it now stands, is inadequate to compensate the Komape family

The death of Michael Komape has ignited debate on whether or not the common law should be developed to include damages for grief

​Polly Boshielo, the Limpopo MEC for education, has committed to eliminating pit toilets in the province by the end of this financial year

Poor facilities rob pupils and teachers of basic rights and also lead to absenteeism and drop-outs

The civil society organisation has called the initiative ‘ironic’ in light of government’s stalling of infrastructure delivery

Section 27 will asking Judge Gerrit Muller to grant the family leave to appeal and for the appeal to be heard at the Supreme Court of Appeal

The outcome of the Michael Komape case illustrates the need for judges to break new ground to realise the democratic contract

It’s a setback for the family, but it will help the campaign to end pit toilets in schools

During the department’s budget vote speech, the minister emphasised that budget cuts will make it difficult to deliver safe infrastructure

The judge dismissed their R2-million claim for constitutional damages, saying justice would be better served if all pupils had safe toilets

Michael’s parents lodged several claims against the Basic Education Department after their five-year-old drowned in a pit latrine in 2014

Five-year-old Michael died in 2014 after falling into a pit latrine at Mehlodumela Primary School where he was a Grade R pupil

The president has instructed Motshekga to develop an emergency plan to eradicate unsafe structures. But the audit and the plans already exist!

Some schools in the Eastern Cape, which have no sanitation at all, would be addressed with urgency

The education minister has convened an urgent meeting to plot the eradication of unsafe toilets following the death of five-year-old ​Lumka Mkhethwa