LIMPOPO – Komape’s son, Michael (5), drowned in a pit toilet at Mahlodumela Primary School in Chebeng village outside Polokwane on 20 January 2014 and he has started on a quest to enhance conditions at Limpopo schools.
“I am a person who loves children and education. It hurt me when I visited one primary school in Limpopo and the whole class was sharing a textbook because they did not have any other books. The schools and classes are overcrowded. I wish the government would build toilets, libraries and provide water in schools,” Komape said at a meeting before attending a court case of another five-year-old, Lumka Mketwa, who drowned in a pit latrine in the Eastern Cape.
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“I don’t want my son to be forgotten, I want his name and memory to live on. Even before he died, we had planned to do this library initiative together, so I am continuing it. Once we manage to build a library, it will be named after him.”
Komape said he approached the local chief at the Chebeng village who donated a piece of land for the library but he is now seeking donations to help him build it.
“In the meantime, I have started the library drive at Hosea Ntsoane Primary School in Chebeng,” said Komape. “Books and desks were donated to us, with most of the donations coming from Section27.” The library is already almost fully stocked and is open from 06:00 to 20:00 and caters for Gr 5 to 7 learners.
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The Limpopo High Court in Polokwane heard the Komape family’s claim for damages against the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Education last year through to February this year and judgment was reserved in the case. It remains to be seen whether this turns out to be a precedent-setting case that provides backbone to the Constitution and holds government departments accountable for their actions and omissions, the outcome sought by Advocate Vincent Maleka and public interest law firm, Section27, which represented the Komape family.
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If the Komapes are successful in their case, it will force government departments to examine their actions in light of Constitutional rights to equality, dignity, and to life. It will force government departments to re-prioritise budgets to avert the kind of tragedy that befell Michael Komape in 2014.
Komape said it pained him deeply that since his son’s death, there has been no visible development or improvement in terms of toilets in the schools in their area.
Minister Angie Motshekga briefed the media on 22 March after an urgent meeting with education MEC’s and heads of department on sanitation infrastructure, saying to get rid of pit toilets in Limpopo alone will cost R3 billion.
“The infrastructure budget for Limpopo, just to keep lights going and water flowing, is a R1 billion annually, so we have R1 billion to keep everything going, including paying rent. Just to deal with eradicating pit toilets has been estimated to cost R3 billion in Limpopo and that is just one province.” She said there were 2 523 pit toilets in 3 833 schools in the province.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered Motshekga and her team to compile a sanitation audit at all public schools. Motshekga said this will be done in three months’ time.
nelie@nmgroup.co.za
