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THE Human Settlement Department has revealed that the North West government has failed to spend R57-million earmarked for sanitation, despite a dire shortage of toilets in that province.

Addressing the portfolio committee on human settlements yesterday, acting chief director of sanitation for the national department, Phillip Chauke, said the reason why the R57-million had not been spent was as a result of having to open up the tender process for more service providers since the two that were appointed did not have the capacity to deliver.

In 2010 the Independent Development Trust (IDT) and the Mvula Trust were given three-year contracts to install 6,330 toilets - but according to the department's presentation zero units had been completed.

For this period, the IDT was awarded a R32-million contract and the Mvula Trust an R11-million contract.

DA MP Steven Mokgalapa said he could not fathom how money was being allocated but nothing was being spent.

"Sanitation is a big issue everywhere," Mokgalapa

"Why are we stuck? What is so special about IDT that year in and year out it shows it has not completed its target. Mvula at least are trying. We are not even making a dent in dealing with sanitation," Mokgalapa said.

ANC MP Gloria Borman was equally frustrated with the lack of progress.

"It's a health hazard that we have got out there, so we are not taking this thing lightly any more.

"The service providers are not providing."

All attempts to explain saw MPs leave the session still baffled.

But afterwards Chauke said about 42,000 toilets had been installed since 2010 and the target for 2012 was about 50,000 more.

Conceding that there were problems, Chauke said the department had been faced with a number of obstacles.

These included the process to appoint more contractors and the ageing infrastructure which needed to be upgraded.

"There is another set of problems where we did have a toilet in a rural area, but it was never emptied, the municipalities do not have the capacity to go and empty the pit. That's a major problem that we have," he said.

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Thu May 23 14:58:04 SAST 2013 ::

Jul 27, 2012

MommaC

This doesn't make sense:

"In 2010 the Independent Development Trust (IDT) and the Mvula Trust were given three-year contracts to install 6,330 toilets - but according to the department's presentation zero units had been completed."

+

"about 42,000 toilets had been installed since 2010"


How does zero units equate to 42 thousand?
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Jul 27, 2012

Maratachelete

Lolment@ "The service providers are not providing"
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Jul 27, 2012

Maphatlhola

How can they build houses if they can't build mere toilets. In fact why should black people have to have their toilets outside?
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Jul 27, 2012

cornelius

@Maphatlhola No country in the world can just build a house with a inside toilet for every family. The state can only do as much as it can with the financial resources at its disposal. Iin SA, the whole state fiscus is created and carried by about 10 % of the population, who are already carrying a tax burden that is excessive. The answer lies in job creation - no country can afford to have 25% of its citizens being dependant on handouts, its impossible. As a Margaret Thatcher said " the problem with socialism is that soon the other people's money runs out". Job creation can only come withr elaxation of labout laws. The people can work and earn their own money, and buil dtheir own houses with toilets inside.
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Jul 27, 2012

9janavy

@Cornelius...You are pissing in the wind.Some people are just too lazy and intellectually deficient to understand what you are saying.The ANC has turned some of it's citizens into spoilt brats who can not even do anything for themselves anymore.This is why these people are envious of other Africans who come here with nothing and make something of themselves without any help from anyone.They need to think out of the box and improvise instead of this "give me,give me ,give me" attitude.There are a million and one opportunities in this country but for some unknown reason these folks just don't seem to have the mental capacity to make use of those opportunities to better themselves and their communities.
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