Collapsed pit toilets a serious danger to children
Residents of Greenside Extension 78 outside Polokwane fear for their children’s lives due to collapsed pit toilets being left uncovered by the municipality.
Exposed pit toilets have left a community outside Polokwane frustrated, after complaints to the local municipality yielded no results. Image: Bosveld Review
Concerns were voiced after three pit toilets in the area collapsed, but were never covered or repaired by the Polokwane municipality, with residents claiming this has been the case for several months.
One of the residents, Steven Kgauli, told the Bosveld Review the matter has been reported to the municipality, but their concerns have seemingly fallen on deaf ears.
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“This is not safe at all for our children because the toilets are on streets where children pass after school,” said Kgauli.
One of the collapsed pit toilet holes which has been left exposed.
He said residents had to keep their children in their yards after school because they feared they might fall into one of the open pits when playing.
“Many children across the province and South Africa have died after falling in pit toilets, so it is unfortunate this matter is seemingly not taken seriously by government,” Kgauli added, saying due to the collapsed toilets, close to 100 shacks in the area had to share one pit toilet.
“The toilet we share is full, which also makes our lives more difficult. It is a pity that it’s seemingly our government’s culture to only respond to such situations when something bad happens.”
Another resident, Athalia Shivambu, said they have to queue to use a single toilet every morning because of the poor service delivery in the area.
“We feel like our dignity as black people are being undermined while there are others who receive quality services,” said Shivambu.
Polokwane Municipality spokesperson Disree Manyane said the municipality was not aware of the collapsed pit toilets.
“The matter will be investigated and attended to as a matter of urgency as this situation can indeed put our people’s lives in danger,” said Manyane.
She further urged residents to continue reporting damaged properties to the municipality so they can resolve the concerns before people’s lives are put in danger.
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