Nearly one in five South Africans lack access to safe sanitation, KwaZulu-Natal households still struggle to fetch water

IOL News

05-06-2025

More than one-third (35,8%) of households in KwaZulu-Natal without piped water in their dwellings or on site took more than 30 minutes to fetch water.
Image: Oupa Mokoena Independent Newspapers
KwaZulu-Natal continues to face significant challenges in providing basic water and sanitation services to its residents, with new data revealing that many households still spend over 30 minutes fetching drinking water.
In addition, nearly one in five South Africans still share sanitation facilities. This is according to the 2024 General Household Survey (GHS) released by Statistics South Africa.
The survey found that 35.8% of households in KZN without piped water in their dwellings or on site took more than 30 minutes to fetch water, highlighting ongoing difficulties with access in the province.
While 83.3% of households in KZN had access to at least a basic level of drinking water, this is still lower than national leaders such as the Western Cape (99.8%) and Gauteng (99.6%). The GHS also showed that provinces like KZN, Limpopo (86.4%) and the Eastern Cape (87.8%) recorded the highest reliance on surface water, a key indicator of limited or unsafe access.
The report distinguishes between levels of water access using what the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) calls the 'water ladder.' The highest level is 'safely managed' water available on premises, when needed, and free of harmful contamination. Basic water requires a collection time of less than 30 minutes; anything longer is considered 'limited.'
Nationally, more than two-thirds (67.8%) of households that fetch their water do so in under 30 minutes, but 5% spend over an hour, underscoring the severity of the issue in specific communities, especially in rural areas.
The situation is further complicated by sanitation challenges. The survey shows that only 76.3% of South Africans had access to safely managed sanitation services in 2024, those that are improved, not shared, and where waste is treated.
Despite being a more urbanised province, Gauteng had the lowest access to safely managed sanitation at 66.1%, while the Eastern Cape (85.3%), Mpumalanga (84.7%), and the Northern Cape (84.4%) topped the list.
Nationally, 19.9% of South Africans shared sanitation facilities, but this figure was much higher in urban areas (31.9%) compared to rural areas (13.2%). Urban informal settlements often lack the infrastructure for private toilets, and multiple households are forced to share, creating hygiene and dignity concerns.
Interestingly, rural areas surpassed urban areas in access to safely managed sanitation, with 79.6% compared to 74.6%, largely due to space availability for household-level improved facilities, even if they are basic.
The GHS explains that, under Sustainable Development Goal 6.2, a sanitation service is only considered safely managed if it is improved, not shared, and waste is properly treated, either on-site, via off-site treatment after collection, or through a sewer system.
Only 46.2% of households nationally had sanitation facilities inside their homes, while 3.1% relied on facilities outside their yards. These figures reflect the ongoing infrastructure gaps, particularly in under-resourced or overcrowded areas.
THE MERCURY