Johannesburg Water is to spend R21 million to install Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilets to informal settlements in the city, particularly in the south of Johannesburg, Sandton Chronicle reports.
This according to MMC for environment and infrastructure services Nico de Jager, who said the target for this financial year was to install 2 290 VIP toilets in various informal settlements around the city.
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Currently, Johannesburg Water has started installing 400 in Drieziek Ext 5, and will install 500 in Lawley. A further 420 toilets will be installed in Meriting as well as ablution blocks in the Zamimpilo informal settlement.
“These VIP toilets will be replacing the old chemical toilets that the residents were using, where they shared one chemical toilet among seven households,” De Jager said.
“These chemical toilets needed to be desludged on a daily basis. They did not have ventilation and were not easy to use for children.”
These new toilets will be installed in each household. They come with a ventilation system to help reduce odour. A 1.2m hole is dug before the toilet is installed to ensure that the toilet does not need to be desludged on a daily basis.
“In fact, it can take up to a year before a VIP toilet needs to be desludged depending on how many people live in that household.”
De Jager said these toilets also came with a potty seat and a handwash basin, and users were able to lock the toilet after using it.
“Before the project is handed over to the community, Johannesburg Water will be teaching the residents about the proper use of these sanitation facilities. These concrete slab structures will provide dignity and improve the lives of these residents.”
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