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Political loophole in VIP toilet tender

The promise of 1 500 VIP toilets – not the airconditioned luxury version on wheels, but ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines – at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal has been welcomed, with a measure of surprise, by senior municipal officials. Although a tender for these toilets, and another 1 500 for Umla- lazi ward 5, which falls in the same district municipality as President Jacob Zuma’s rural home, was advertised in the latest govern- ment tender bulletin, a call to the municipality this week showed managers there were not aware of the development. “It’s taken us by surprise, but we welcome it. It will make a difference,” said municipal manager Mgezeni Ngonyama. “We are busy rehabilitating the town centre.” But KwaZulu-Natal rural development spokesman Sipho Dlamini said “Nkandla is fully informed” as meetings including the mayor had identified the need to improve access to sanitation as a priority. The ministry announced in March that a series of forums would meet every two months to check progress.

But the tender for the Nkandla and Umlalazi VIP toilets, which both fall under the Uthungulu district municipality, seems to have happened under the radar of the administrators, even if municipal politicos were in the loop. At stake is potentially millions of rands. Officially, the contracts for 500 VIP toilets at Nkandla ward 9, ward 7 (south) and ward 7 (north) are pegged at about R500 000 each. The same applies to Umlalazi’s ward 5, which is divided into north, south and central zones. Dlamini did not put a rand and cents figure to this project, saying it was a joint effort across departments in which resources were pooled. The tender closes on October 20.

VIP toilets came to the fore around 2002, when the Water Affairs department, then responsible for providing sanitation, introduced a vent in the structure to increase air circulation and to limit odours and flies. However, a VIP toilet is essentially a sizeable hole in the ground, reinforced by bricks, over which a structure is built with bricks, corrugated iron or similar material. The toilet door should face the wind and the structure should be at least 40m from any water supply. Zuma, after casting his vote in the May municipal poll, said he had voted for development in Nkandla: “We want water, electricity and proper roads in this area. We want electricity to cover everybody.”

Source: iol.co.za

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Political loophole in VIP toilet tender

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