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FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION SUPPORTS PARLIAMENT'S CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY AND FASTER ACTION ON SCHOOL SANITATION
Issued by Daniela Ellerbeck on behalf of the FW de Klerk Foundation on 09/06/2026
The FW de Klerk Foundation notes with concern Parliament’s Chairperson of the Select Committee on Education, Sciences and Creative Industries’ criticism about the Department of Basic Education’s communication on school sanitation. The Foundation shares Parliament’s concern that government must present an accurate picture of the challenges that remain. Parliament’s oversight visits to schools in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and North West found that many learners still use unsafe toilets and attend schools without reliable water. No child should face these conditions.
The Foundation has always welcomed progress in replacing pit toilets. At the same time, it has consistently warned that the government cannot celebrate success while many learners still lack safe and reliable sanitation. In 2025, the Foundation commended progress under the Department’s Sanitation Appropriate for Education (“SAFE”) programme, but stressed that every remaining pit toilet still put children’s rights and safety at risk.
“The Foundation has always said that school sanitation is about children, not statistics,” says Daniela Ellerbeck, an attorney and the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Constitutional Rights Programmes Manager. “Every learner has the right to dignity, safety and basic education. Government must give the public an honest picture of the work that still lies ahead.“
The Foundation’s Executive Director, Christo van der Rheede, says, “We welcome every new toilet that gives learners a safer environment. But government must also speak honestly about the schools that still need help. It must fix poor workmanship, improve maintenance and speed up delivery. South Africa cannot afford another tragedy caused by unsafe school toilets.“
The Foundation supports Parliament’s call for greater transparency and faster action. Government should publish clear maintenance plans, report on the remaining backlog and ensure that every school has safe, working sanitation. Learners deserve more than promises. They deserve safe schools that protect their dignity and their future.
PUBLIC LAND IS A CONSTITUTIONAL INSTRUMENT, NOT A BALANCE-SHEET ENTRY
The Constitutional Court’s Tafelberg judgment confirms that well-located public land cannot be treated merely as a commercial asset when it can help reverse apartheid’s spatial legacy. Where affordable housing is built matters, because access to employment, transport, education and essential services forms part of meaningful access to adequate housing. Municipalities and provinces must therefore manage and dispose of public land transparently, with genuine public participation and proper regard for its constitutional value.
LESSONS FROM THE 2026 GTAC CONFERENCE
The 2026 GTAC Public Economics Conference highlighted a central truth: South Africa’s employment crisis cannot be solved by training people for jobs that do not exist. Sustainable progress requires evidence-based policy, smarter public spending and greater support for the informal, township and rural economies where millions already earn their livelihoods. Ultimately, the Constitution demands a state that protects dignity, removes barriers to opportunity and measures success by real outcomes rather than the number of programmes funded.
FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION ON WITHHOLDING OF MUNICIPAL TRANSFERS
The FW de Klerk Foundation notes National Treasury’s decision to withhold transfers to non-compliant municipalities and Parliament’s call for their urgent compliance. These developments confirm what has become crystal clear: Many municipalities across South Africa faces a deep and persistent governance crisis.