WATCH | R120m toilet project makes Northern Cape premier Zamani Saul dance

The Northern Cape has the highest number of households still using bucket toilets. Residents have used the bucket system for decades.

Premier Zamani Saul was trending this week for showing off his dance moves at the launch of a R120m sanitation project in Campbell. Residents of the small village near the Ghaap Plateau have been using buckets for years. 

According to the latest Census 2022 report, 4.5% (15,009) of households in the province use bucket toilets. Nationally, 2.1% of households use bucket systems, unchanged from 2011. 

Saul took to social media and announced a project to eradicate 540 bucket and pit latrines at a cost of about R120m.

His announcement was met by anger from social media users questioning whether each toilet would cost R222,222, calculated on the figures the premier gave.

According to a water and sanitation report released in September, Campbell has 596 households using buckets. 

“The town is dependent on groundwater [boreholes and springs]. There are no water treatment works. Water is treated by chlorination at the main reservoir,” the report said. 

The provincial government said the R120m project would take place in three phases:

• phase 1: construct bulk sewer and waterborne sanitation;
• phase 2: upgrade bulk water or augmentation to supply current and future demand; and 
• phase 3: construct water and sanitation reticulation and install toilets. 

The municipality advertised the tender for construction of a wastewater treatment works in Campbell in November.

Other interesting facts on the state of sanitation in the province from Census 2022: 

• 4.5% (15,009) of households reported having no type of toilet facility;
• 8.9% (29,686) of households use pit latrines without ventilation; 
• 7.1% (23,682) of households use pit latrines with ventilation; and  
• 73.0% (243,493) of households reported having flushing toilets.

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