The City of Cape Town says more people have toilets now than 10 years ago.
Since 2006, it had increased the ratio of toilets to households from 1:9.6 to 1:4.3 despite the pressures brought on as a result of population increase, the City said yesterday.
The proportion of full-flush toilets has also increased from 15 percent to 30 percent of total toilet provision, mayoral committee member for utility services Ernest Sonnenberg said.
As the City approached the August 3 municipal elections, it was taking stock of what had so far been achieved, as well as what steps were necessary to ensure a positive and empowering trajectory for the City, he said.
The provision of sanitation, a commonly-used indicator of how well the City was performing, especially in informal settlements, was one such area currently being assessed.
He said in 2006, only 15 000 toilets had been provided to informal settlements in the city.
Of these, about 3000 were black bucket toilets and only 2500 of the total toilets provided were connected to the sewage system.
Sonnenberg said: “Backbone infrastructure, such as piping and effluent treatment, were woefully insufficient and the planning required for these critical installations was in its infancy.
“The going has been hard but 10 years later, significant progress has been made. By March 2016, over 50 000 toilets have been provided, of which 15 000 were full-flush.”
All but a tiny minority of the black buckets had been removed from service, with those residents still using this typology choosing to do so over all other available options, Sonnenberg added.