By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday said it will start legal proceedings to force the government to eradicate pit latrines in South Africa.
This follows the death of three-year-old Langalam Viki, who drowned in a pit toilet at Glen Grey Primary School in Esiqithini village earlier this month.
The little girl’s mother raised the alarm when she failed to return home from school.
It was Langalam’s 10-year-old brother who arrived at home alone after school with the bad news that his sister had gone missing on school grounds.
She was buried on Saturday with the assistance of the Eastern Cape education department.
On Human Rights Day, DA leader John Steenhuisen visited the family at Esiqithini Village in Vaalbank, outside Komani.
Addressing mourners and well-wishers at the Viki homestead, he said: “In consultation with our lawyers, the DA will be starting litigation proceedings to find the quickest and most effective means to instruct governments across the country to erect proper sanitation facilities for all school children as a fundamental human right.”
Steenhuisen added that the party would engage with civil society organisations, public advocacy groups, and non-governmental organisations working in the education space to put together a strong case.
Steenhuisen informed the Viki family that he had told his party that he did not want to celebrate Human Rights Day at some stadium, but wanted to spend the day with them.
He dismissed views that he had visited the family on Human Rights Day to score political points.
The 2021 National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) report revealed that a total of 5 167 schools (21.1%) were still forced to use pit toilets, while 5 836 (25%) did not have a reliable water supply.