SOWETAN | Action needed to restore dignity of Evaton residents

More than 20 families sharing twotoiletsin 2026. This is the alarming situation the Gauteng department of human settlements appears to have normalised in Evaton, in the Vaal, despite the indignity of it. This week, we reported on theEvaton ablution and sanitation project, which delivered 30 sanitation ablution facilities to replace pit toilets in the area.

While the structures are meant to deliver dignified sanitation to the community, some beneficiaries are yet to use them because they either have been locked or are flooded, and one communal stand has not been connected to the sewer. The facilities, comprising three toilets for males, three for females, urinals, and three showers for both genders in each stand, were built at a whopping R24m. This cost alone is alarming and appears exorbitant despite attempts by the department to justify it by citing the construction scope that extended beyond the supply and installation of the structures.

Granted that was the case, what justification could there be for the government to build communal ablution facilities at this high cost compared to building houses that would provide better dignity for residents? When our team visited the area on Wednesday, residents who were meant to benefit from the facility at one communal stand said they were unable to use the newly built facilities because they were not connected to the sewer line. The department claims that this facility in Adams Road could not be connected to the nearest sewer manhole because the Evaton Methodist Church, on whose premises the manhole is located, refused access, citing concerns about existing sewer blockages in the area.

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In fact, this incident highlights another government failure with ensuring maintenance of the sewerage system, resulting in spillages and unresolved blockages in areas. The Emfuleni municipality, which the project was handed over to for maintenance, is dysfunctional and no longer capable of ensuring a functional sewer system. Even if it were true that only one stand providing sanitation to Evaton residents was not connected and, thus, not working, that’s still unacceptable, as it means almost 10 families are without dignified sanitation.

The plight of the people of Evaton, who expected better from their government, shouldn’t be diminished by statements that seek to downplay their suffering. If, indeed, the Gauteng department of human settlements is committed to restoring the dignity of residents, as it claims, it ought to start with fixing the embarrassing mess it has created with the phase of the project before moving to the next stage.

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