Pit latrines still in 20 schools as Limpopo misses deadline

Twenty Limpopo schools are still using pit toilets after the provincial basic education department missed two deadlines to eradicate them.

- Alex Japho Matlala

The department said yesterday it would need close to R1 billion to ensure no schools have pit latrines in the province.

"We have just over R970 million set aside to deal with the remaining inappropriate sanitation," department spokesperson Mike Maringa said yesterday.

Maringa said his department was working with the Development Bank of South Africa, the National Education Collaboration Trust, the Independent Development Trust and the Limpopo department of public works, roads and infrastructure to replace the old toilets.

"Schools were prioritised based on what we have on the ground.

"We have so far missed two deadlines – 2023 and 2024 – to meet the high court judgment," said Maringa.

Earlier, the department argued that the eradication process could only be completed in 2030.