DBE clears pit toilet backlog, infrastructure challenges remain

Basic Education Minister, Siviwe Gwarube, says the government has completed all school sanitation projects under the 2018 Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) Initiative.

Speaking during a visit to Dimbaza Primary School in the Eastern Cape on Monday Gwarube announced that all 3,372 schools identified in the 2018 audit have now been provided with safe and appropriate sanitation facilities.

She said the programme has benefited more than three million learners and over 48,000 teachers by replacing dangerous pit toilets that have claimed the lives of several children.

Among the victims were five-year-old, Michael Komape, who died after falling into a dilapidated pit latrine at his school in Chebeng, Limpopo, in 2014; five-year-old child, Lumka Mkhethwa, whose body was found in a school pit toilet in the Eastern Cape in 2018; and three-year-old, Langalam Viki, who died in a similar incident in the province in 2023. 

Gwarube stressed that while the SAFE Initiative backlog has been cleared, this does not mean pit toilets have been eliminated from every school.

She said some schools may have developed new sanitation challenges since the 2018 audit, while others may have not been identified at the time. She urged provincial education departments to continue identifying and addressing any outstanding cases.

The minister also warned that South Africa still faces a school infrastructure backlog exceeding R120 billion, with many schools lacking classrooms, libraries, laboratories and other essential facilities.

She called on communities to help protect school infrastructure, saying maintaining safe and functional learning environments are essential for learners’ future.

“Today we celebrate a remarkable national achievement. Tomorrow we continue building, maintaining and modernising our schools until every learner learns in an environment that reflects the value we place on their future,” Gwarube said.

Today, South Africa has reached a historic milestone.

I am pleased to announce that we have reached 100% completion of the 2018 Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) Initiative backlog.

We have ensured that every school identified in the original 2018 audit as having… pic.twitter.com/j78Y87u3Ua

— Siviwe Gwarube (@Siviwe_G) July 6, 2026

A major milestone for education in South Africa!

Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, will today visit Dimbaza Primary School in the Eastern Cape, where the Department of Basic Education will mark a significant milestone in its commitment to providing safe, dignified… pic.twitter.com/qQtnByr4cu

— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) July 6, 2026