Note to Editors: Please note soundbites by Sakhile Mngadi, MPL in English and IsiZulu
The DA in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) will, on Monday 18 August, conduct an official oversight inspection at Mzila Primary School in Dannhauser to establish the full facts after a six-year-old learner died after falling into a pit toilet.
The tragic incident is believed to have taken place after the child was playing with a tyre near the school’s ablution facilities.
The DA extends its deepest condolences to the Kunene family on the loss of their son. We also call on SAPS and all relevant authorities to fast-track investigations so that the family can receive closure and justice without delay.
This heartbreaking incident highlights the need for a renewed national commitment to safe and dignified school sanitation. While 97% of schools identified through the SAFE initiative have eradicated pit toilets, and Education Minister, Siviwe Gwarube, has elevated this issue through robust oversight and the launch of the Safe Schools app, we recognise that more must be done. Urgent cooperation across all levels of government and partnerships remains essential to ensure that no learner is left behind and that tragedies like this are never repeated.
Equally concerning is KZN’s Department of Education’s (DoE) failure to take the education portfolio committee into its confidence by disclosing this incident. This lack of transparency is unacceptable. The DA will be raising this matter directly at the next Education portfolio committee.
As a member of KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA will not rest until every child in our province has access to safe, dignified, and hygienic sanitation at school. We owe it to the memory of this young boy – and to every learner in our province – to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again.