Coega rolls out R126m sanitation upgrade
The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) is currently rolling out a R126-million sanitation upgrade project at rural schools in the Eastern Cape on behalf of the Eastern Cape Department of Education (DoE).
The programme will see 947 toilets built at 108 schools in the Transkei region of the province as part of an initiative to improve infrastructure at Eastern Cape schools.
Millions of people do not have access to proper sanitation across South Africa and the situation is especially dire at some rural schools. The Eastern Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal are the worst-affected provinces in terms of infrastructure backlogs.
Sanitation facilities at rural schools are generally bad, with toilet facilities that are blocked, broken or dirty, resulting in facilities that are often unusable. Some rural schools have no sanitation facilities at all, forcing scholars to relieve themselves outside.
“Poor sanitation infrastructure is problematic, as it impacts on the personal hygiene and safety of school children, and even impacts negatively on their learning. The South African Human Rights Commission and other recent research projects into childhood development have found that a lack of decent infrastructure infringes on the right to education,” says CDC programme manager Thembeka Poswa.
She adds that the Eastern Cape DoE strives to ensure that schools in the province have sufficient toilet and hand-washing facilities. “Every effort should be made to improve safety and privacy. School sanitation programmes not only impact on children’s access to education and development, but they are also essential to individuals’ ability to live and learn with dignity.”
The CDC appointed 11 contractors in February for the sanitation project, which will be completed in the second half of the year.
Project Summary
The CDC’s sanitation upgrade project will see the upgrade of 173 toilets at 14 schools in the Joe Gqabi district, 145 toilets at 26 schools in the Alfred Nzo district, 238 toilets at 27 schools in the Chris Hani district, 276 toilets at 19 schools in the OR Tambo district and 115 toilets at 22 schools in the Amathole district.
CDC marketing and communications head Dr Ayanda Vilakazi says urgent intervention is needed at schools in the Eastern Cape.
“A lack of access to toilets infringes on a child’s right to human dignity and, as a socioeconomic development agency, the CDC strives to affect positive change for communities in South Africa by undertaking infrastructure development or upgrade programmes on behalf of various government departments,” he asserts.
The CDC took on the construction of 25 schools in the Eastern Cape as part of the government-led Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative. Earlier this year, CDC had constructed 17 of these.
“This year, learners across the Eastern Cape started their school year in newly built schools thanks to the Eastern Cape DoE’s commitment to improving the learning and teaching environments for pupils,” says Vilakazi.
During the 2013/14 financial year, the CDC, through its Eastern Cape School Building Programme, delivered a total of 73 projects valued at R638-million on behalf of the Eastern Cape DoE.
This portfolio included emergency schools, early childhood centres, technical workshops and the eradication of mud structures throughout the Eastern Cape province.
In total, 27 schooling facilities were completed and handed over to clients and the communities that year.
Comments
The
content
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation