Thoko Mashiane, a member of the provincial legislature in Mpumalanga, is calling on the government to act immediately following what she described as another year of broken promises and deteriorating conditions in clinics and schools.
Mashiane, who is also the chairperson of ActionSA Mpumalanga, demanded that “the crisis of dignity and human rights” be addressed immediately.
According to Mashiane, children continue to attend schools in many parts of the province without running water or functional toilets.
She stated that some children feel compelled to relieve themselves in the bushes or collapsed pit latrines.
Healthcare professionals in rural clinics deal with similar issues, using pit toilets and fetching water in buckets.
Rise in school dropout rates
“This is not just about broken infrastructure; it is about human dignity, health, safety, and the provincial government’s continued failure to meet its constitutional obligations,” Mashiane said.
“This situation is particularly cruel for young girls. The lack of private, hygienic facilities forces many young girls to stay at home during their menstrual cycles.
“In a province already burdened by high [school] dropout rates, poor sanitation is silently pushing more children, particularly girls, out of the education system.”
According to Mashiane, a lack of funding is not the issue but rather a failure in leadership.
She said that the education department in the province has recently returned hundreds of millions of rands to the National Treasury despite dire needs.
Mashiane feels that proper, flushing toilets and water system repairs could have been constructed with the money that was returned.
“While learners in Kwamhlanga, Kanyamazane, and Siyabuswa continue to relieve themselves in collapsing pit latrines or the surrounding bushes, the government continues to underspend on infrastructure.
“This is not a funding problem; it is a failure of leadership and accountability,” she said.
Call for thorough public audit
To provide safe surroundings for children, she said, some parents and school governing bodies have taken matters into their hands and are digging makeshift toilets and filling Jojo tanks with water.
Mashiane is calling for emergency water tank and toilet deliveries, a thorough public audit of all impacted schools and clinics, specialised funding with frequent progress reports, and genuine accountability for officials who have fallen short.
“This is not just a governance issue; it is a moral one. No child should have to choose between education and safety.
“No nurse should have to treat patients without clean water. No community should have to struggle for basic needs.
