Issued by Daniela Ellerbeck on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation:
The FW de Klerk Foundation notes the recent announcement by Basic Education Minister, Siviwe Gwarube, confirming that only 96% of the school pit toilets were eradicated as of 31 March 2025. This was the deadline for 100% eradication of all school pit toilets.
“The Foundation acknowledges that Minister Gwarube and her department made significant strides in addressing this long-standing violation of learners’ constitutional rights (including, but not limited to, the right to dignity and the right to life). The achievement of removing unsafe sanitation facilities from most affected schools is no small feat. However, while 96% is indeed progress worth recognising, it is not a completion of the task. The remaining 4% still exposes learners to unsafe, undignified and unconstitutional conditions. These are not mere statistics, but real schools with real children whose right to life, dignity, health and safety continue to be undermined,” states Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programmes Manager.
“As highlighted in the Foundation’s open letter to the Department earlier this year, the eradication of pit toilets is not simply a policy issue, but it is a matter of human rights and lives” says Shanees Nkandu, an intern at the Foundation. “The deaths of learners in unsafe sanitation facilities in previous years have underscored the tragic and urgent nature of this issue,” she adds.
The progress made should be seen as a step forward, not the finish line. The Foundation encourages the Minister and her department to sustain this momentum, finish the task and ensure that no learner is left behind in accessing safe and dignified sanitation.
.continue reading this article HERE.
Thoko Didiza: {1996 – 1999} Didiza emphasized rural development and agricultural reform during her
tenure, advocating for land redistribution and support for smallholder farmers.
Helmet Destroyer
Switzerland: You have two cows. Neither belong to you.
Sun Lemon
Interview with a pirate:
There was a pirate who had agreed to do an interview with a local tv station. The reporter was very courteous and professional, giving a bit of background as to the pirate\’s business. She then began interviewing him.
\”So Mr. Longbeard, are there any risks to your business? I see you have a peg leg- how did that come about?\”
\”Well, y\’see I were sailing along the coast of South Africa, looking to plunder some locals when as I boarded the small boat from the ship, a great white shark came up and got my leg clean off. \’twas scary yes, but thus is the life of a pirate.\”
\”Wow, that is pretty scary- well, how about your hook? What happened to your hand with that?\”
\”Oh now that\’s quite the tale, y\’see I were fighting a rival pirate, and we had locked swords. We had been fighting for a few hours, and were both terribly fatigued. I had a bit of exhaustion and confusion, and when I went to block one of his sword blows, I met him with me hand instead of me sword. Took it right off, but it shocked him so much I managed to get him back pretty good and have him submit. So the hook hand was given as a replacement.\”
\”Wow. Simply fascinating. Now, what about your eye patch? How did that happen?\”
\”Well, one day, a seagull was flying overhead, and I looked up. It pooped right in me eye.\”
\”… Well wow. I must admit, I wouldn\’t think just seagull poop could damage the eye that badly.\”
\”Oh, I forgot to mention… it were me first day with the hook.\”