Open toilets: Minister Sexwale in dereliction of duty
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will question Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale in Parliament on why he failed to ensure that open toilets would be enclosed by the Moqhaka municipality (Viljoenskroon) in the Free State.
Minister Sexwale was ordered by the Human Rights Commission (HRC) nearly a year ago to make sure his Department sets out concrete steps to enclose the toilets "with urgency".
The HRC found that residents' rights to "dignity, privacy and a clean environment" were violated by the state of sanitation in the Rammulotsi township and surrounding areas.
I visited the area this week. Thousands of people are still being affected by the lack of proper sanitation. I witnessed how grandmothers and children were forced to use toilets covered with black rubbish bags for privacy.
In nearby Brickfields, I saw how hundreds of residents are forced to make use of one starkly open toilet in the middle of a field. The same toilet is also linked to the only source of drinking water for the entire community.