Third Special Report

Covid-19municipal relief funding (CMRF) 65 Emfuleni did not provide the necessary needs analysis documents for us to confirm that a sufficient number of toilets was provided to households in informal settlements. Municipal officials indicated that toilets were allocated at a ratio of one toilet for every four households. The absence of a formally documented need identification could result in the over- or undersupply of toilets in relation to the population to be served. KEY AUDIT FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS Unhygienic and unsafe conditions created due to non-maintenance of chemical toilets Residents using shared sanitation facilities are at a higher risk of being exposed to covid-19. On 25 March 2020, theminister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs issued directions tomunicipalities, in terms of section 27(2) of the Disaster Management Act. Section 6.2.1(b) of these directions requiresmunicipalities to provide potable water and sanitation services to high population density settlements, rural communities and informal settlements. At five (71%) of the sevenmunicipalities selected for auditing, we identified that the chemical toilets provided by the service providers were not regularly inspected to verify that the toilets were:  still in existence and positioned as agreed – there was a risk that chemical toilets initially provided by service providers could have been removed or movedwithout informing themunicipality  still in a useable order – toilets could have been damaged, leaving residents unable to use the toilets provided  serviced and cleaned –municipalities appoint service providers to supply, service and clean the toilets and the service-level agreements or contracts with the service providers specify how regularly this should be done. The findings below are an example of what our teams foundwhen they visited chemical toilets installed as part of the covid-19 response. Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Themunicipality used service providers to inspect andmaintain the chemical toilets provided to communities. We found that these service providers were not properly monitored and themunicipality did not have adequate processes in place to ensure the service providers do what is required in terms of the service-level agreement. Themunicipality relied on the service providers’ logbooks and then compiled their own checklist in an effort to establish whether the agreed-upon services were rendered. During a site visit conducted on 26 February 2021 at Motherwell NU30, we observed that none of the five chemical toilets was properly cleaned. The communities explained that the service provider took the waste and poured chemical water into the storage, but did not clean the surfaces of the toilet. This may contribute to the risk of the residents being exposed to diseases due to the unhygienic condition of the toilets. Motherwell NU30: toilets not properly cleaned