Government has vowed to banish the bucket system by year end, yet on January 1 there will remain many South Africans who have no choice but to use this foul and undignified system of sewage disposal.
Briefing the media at Parliament on Tuesday, Water Affairs Minister Lindiwe Hendricks said while her department was on track to rid “formal” settlements of the bucket system by December 31, there were still 15,3-million people without access to basic sanitation services.
The figure included people in rural areas, as well as those in “informal” settlements.
“When we talk about the 15,3-million people who don’t have access to sanitation, we are counting people in the informal settlements as well as those in rural areas,” she told journalists.
The use of the bucket system is rife in informal settlements.
Asked how many South Africans lived in such communities, Hendricks said this was “very difficult” to say.
“It is a very difficult target… because informal settlements mushroom and develop daily. It’s a reality we must face because the population grows everyday. We have no control over population growth.
“Studies have shown that households are becoming smaller… so there are more people requiring housing units.”
Hendricks suggested government’s RDP housing programme was exacerbating the problem.
“It encourages people to move out of their homes and get into the informal settlements, to be in line for an RDP house,” she said.
She admitted that in January next year “you will still find the bucket system” among shack dwellers.
“That cannot be avoided completely; I think that’s the reality,” Hendricks said.
The media briefing comes a day before the minister’s Budget vote speech, set to be delivered in the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. - Sapa
Briefing the media at Parliament on Tuesday, Water Affairs Minister Lindiwe Hendricks said while her department was on track to rid “formal” settlements of the bucket system by December 31, there were still 15,3-million people without access to basic sanitation services.
The figure included people in rural areas, as well as those in “informal” settlements.
“When we talk about the 15,3-million people who don’t have access to sanitation, we are counting people in the informal settlements as well as those in rural areas,” she told journalists.
The use of the bucket system is rife in informal settlements.
Asked how many South Africans lived in such communities, Hendricks said this was “very difficult” to say.
“It is a very difficult target… because informal settlements mushroom and develop daily. It’s a reality we must face because the population grows everyday. We have no control over population growth.
“Studies have shown that households are becoming smaller… so there are more people requiring housing units.”
Hendricks suggested government’s RDP housing programme was exacerbating the problem.
“It encourages people to move out of their homes and get into the informal settlements, to be in line for an RDP house,” she said.
She admitted that in January next year “you will still find the bucket system” among shack dwellers.
“That cannot be avoided completely; I think that’s the reality,” Hendricks said.
The media briefing comes a day before the minister’s Budget vote speech, set to be delivered in the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. - Sapa
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