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pit toiletslatest news & developments
All toilets need some sort of system to deal with the resultant sewage in a safe manner or be connected to a communal treatment system for that purpose.

Section 27 back in court to argue for the eradication of pit toilets in Limpopo

Section 27 says the plans the Limpopo department has provided for getting rid of pit toilets are not clear and offer no timelines

William Moraka

Catalysing a new sanitation paradigm for South Africa

New, ultra-modern toilets are hygienic – and they save water

Dr Doulaye Kone from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Minister Lindiwe Sisulu of Human Settlements

Water Research Commission launches new programme

It will develop and scale the pathogen-killing, water-smart, reinvented toilet in South Africa

Together with multi-sector stakeholders

Water Research Commission launches Sastep

Innovative sanitation technologies will create thousands of vital jobs

Hours after falling into a pit latrine, Michael Komape’s mother still desperately hoping he could be rescued alive, had to sit, looking at the little hand, waiting for social services to come. (Elijar Mushiana/Gallo Images/Sowetan)

The law and the horror of the death of 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

File photo: Madelene Cronjé/M&G

The struggle to uncapture the classroom

With their submissions to the commission of inquiry into state capture, two civil society groups have set out to root out corruption in education

The memorandum was signed by Infrastructure in South Africa, an entity of the department of public works and infrastructure; the national treasury; and the Development Bank of Southern Africa. (Madelene Cronjé/M&G)

Bare minimum is just not enough

The stipend for the community work programme is R780 a month — but they want the basic minimum wage of R3 500 a month that some workers now get

Pit toilets at a Limpopo school. (Andrew Hlongwane/Sowetan/Gallo Images)

Limpopo’s number of pit toilets don’t add up

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

‘Let us build this social compact of shared responsibility and a new society founded on the principles of justice, dignity and equality,’ writes President Ramaphosa (David Harrison/M&G)

Proper sanitation in schools is a human right

In the public-school system, more than 11 000 schools have been provided with flush toilets since 1994

According to the Department of Basic Education’s audit, about 3 898 schools across the country were reported to have inappropriate sanitation. (Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images)

#WorldToiletDay: Give pupils dignity and safety by providing toilets

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

According to the Department of Basic Education’s audit, about 3 898 schools across the country were reported to have inappropriate sanitation. (Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images)

Another child drowns in a pit toilet, this time at home

A three-year-old boy has died after allegedly falling into a pit toilet at his aunt’s home in Limpopo

Minister Angie Motshekga during the radio interview.

Motshekga: ‘What we need is money’

During an interview, Eusebius McKaiser questioned Angie Motshekga on history as a compulsory subject, the teacher-pupil ratio and violence in schools

(David Harrison/M&G)

Understanding the Michael Komape judgment

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

(David Harrison/M&G)

No relief for the Komape family

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

Rosina and James Komape

Court dismisses damages claim by Komape family

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

Weak links: The slow provision of safe infrastructure to schools is hindered by

Build co-operation into school sector

Streamlined delivery chains are needed, as is the ability to construct safe infrastructure

According to the Department of Basic Education’s audit, about 3 898 schools across the country were reported to have inappropriate sanitation. (Alet Pretorius/Gallo Images)

Following pit toilet death, Education department to implement sanitation audit

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

The announcement by Minister of Education Angie Motshekga that history will be made compulsory from grades 10 to 12 by 2022 has opened up many debates

Motshekga calls urgent meeting to discuss poor infrastructure

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

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​Unembargoed: March 16 to 22

The ANC is becoming a threat to the opposition again,and another child was found dead in a pit toilet at school. Read this and more.

Bucket toilets and human ­excrement running in the streets is not unusual in some of the ­country’s municipalities.

Another young child drowns in school pit-latrine

Five-year-old Viwe Jali fell into the toilet at the Luna Primary School in Bizana on Tuesday