Sanitation research - laying the foundation for sustainable service delivery

Abstract

Sanitation has been the so-called ‘Cinderella’ of basic services in many countries and for a long time the situation in South Africa was no different. When the country held its first democratic elections in 1994 only about 50% of households had access to sanitation. In the first few years of democracy delivery remained slow, hampered by the lack of focus and the division of attention spread over seven different government departments. The outbreak of cholera in KwaZulu-Natal in 2000 served as a huge wake up call for the country, however. The epidemic resulted in 265 deaths in five provinces, and 117 147 people, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal, were infected. Increased investment in sanitation investment followed. By 2007, about 73% of households had access to at least a basic level of sanitation. Government admits that the rate of delivery could have been faster if the extensive roll-out of housing was supported by bulk water and sewerage infrastructure upgrading.

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