POLITICS

"Poo in full view!" - Daily Sun

"Our RDP has a toilet in the kitchen!" - front page lead, March 24 2015

Daily Sun (March 24 2015) - IF YOU wanted to, you could sit on the toilet and do the dishes at the same time.

The toilet and the kitchen sink are only an arm's length apart.

THIS IS THE HOUSE WHERE THE LOO AND THE KITCHEN ARE IN THE SAME ROOM!

To make matters worse, you could even watch TV while somebody was using the toilet in the background.

Zukisa Madwalazi (29) from Umlazi, Durban, told Daily Sun that even worse than losing their dignity were fears about their health.

"We could be infected by germs from the toilet at any time," she said.

She told the SunTeam the two-roomed RDP they live in was built in 2008 and handed over to the family the same year.

"When we moved in, we saw there was a toilet in the kitchen. We reported the matter to the councillor but nothing happened," she said.

"We were hoping the contractors would be called to come back and change the layout of the house but this never happened."

She said six members of the family live in the tiny house, which isn't easy.

They used to use their neighbours' toilets during the day and buckets at night but the neighbours soon started complaining.

"We then built our own pit toilet outside but the neighbours said the smell was bad and it was too close to their houses.

"We are now forced to use this toilet in the house," said Zukisa.

She said the area used to be a squatter camp but RDPs were built there in 2008.

While some of the RDPs have the same layout, the other neighbours have managed to build their own walls in between or have at least put up room dividers.

She said the toilet doesn't work properly and after somebody has used it they have to pour water into the bowl to flush it.

She also said they often have problems when the toilet floods.

Councillor Amond Dladla said he didn't remember the family but advised Zukisa to visit the site manager.

"If they are not assisted they should come to my office and I will take the matter further," he said.

Public works department spokesman Mbulelo Baloyi said they would have to check if the Madwalazis built the toilet themselves. He said no toilets were put in the RDPs because there was no water in the area when they were built.

"I will contact the family and find out what happened," said Baloyi.

See the Daily Sun's new website for more on this and other stories....

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 274 165 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2nd Quarter 2014) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

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