The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday said it will start legal proceedings to force the government to remove pit toilets in South Africa.
On Tuesday the DA visited the family of four-year-old Langalam Viki, whose body was found in a pit toilet at a school in Glen Grey, Eastern Cape, last week.
‘Small progress’ to eliminate pit toilets
“No child should have to face this fate in South Africa almost 30 years since the dawn of our democracy,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.
Steenhuisen, along with DA Eastern Cape provincial leader Andrew Whitfield, DA shadow minister for basic education Baxolile Nodada, DA shadow MEC for education Edmund Van Vuuren, and DA North East Cape constituency head Sanele Magaqa, also visited Mngcqangele school, where Viki died, to evaluate sanitation facilities.
Also read: Four-year-old boy found dead in school pit toilet
The DA said the government had consistently “shown little progress” in ending the use of pit toilets in the country.
DA to initiate court proceedings
Steenhuisen said that while the high court decision in 2021 ordered the government to remove all pit latrines in Limpopo, this decision cannot be used in other provinces. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has also yet to file a paper after saying it would take legal action, he added.
“In consultation with our attorneys, the DA will begin court proceedings to find the fastest and most effective way to guide governments across the country to build proper sanitation facilities for all school children as a human right,” Steenhuisen said.
The DA will also ask civil society organizations, public advocacy groups, and non-governmental organizations in the education sector to help build their case against the government.
“Drowning our children in pit toilets goes beyond violating human rights – it is a horror that no South African should ever be forced to contemplate,” said Steenhuisen.
Also read: Tool to be launched to monitor eradication of pit toilets in Limpopo schools
The DA accused the African National Congress (ANC) of failing to build toilet facilities in schools because education budgets were cut to save state-owned companies and “billions are lost to corruption”.
“We cannot celebrate Human Rights Day until every child has access to safe and dignified sanitation at school,” added Steenhuisen.