Amanzi Clean Water Solutions for SA Schools

What would prompt one of South Africa’s first qualified black geologists to give up a prominent job at a multi-national mining group to become a toilet cleaner? The answer to that question led to my rudest insights into the challenges faced by South Africans who don’t have access to basic sanitation facilities and running water.

Throughout a one-hour interview, Trevor Mulaudzi of the Clean Shop – a finalist in the social category of the South African chapter of the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards – asked me at the outset: “Do you want to know why there’s social unrest in places like Diepsloot and Standerton and why kids are milling around in the streets instead of being at school? You’d also be unhappy if you didn’t have access to running water or had to look at or use the toilet facilities people in the townships are forced to endure.”

He added that the lack of adequate toilet and ablution facilities within township schools is negatively impacting the willingness of pupils to go to school, and the effects of that are only likely to be felt many years later.

According to research Mulaudzi quotes, more than 750,000 people under the age of 12 have died in sub-Saharan Africa since June this year as a result of the lack of sanitation. He says one of the biggest eye-openers is watching young kids enter the school system at the start of the year. “They’re so excited about starting school, but they take one look at the toilet facilities and run away, trying to find excuses not to come back to school.”

So, is the Government doing enough to tackle and address some of those problems?

Not a chance, says Mulaudzi. “If you’re failing to manage your toilet system in SA, how can you tell people you can effectively manage a State or a major project such as the Gautrain?”

He says that since 1996 he launched the Clean Shop, he’s never had any buy-in from the government to educate South Africans about good sanitation practices. However, businesses—especially at mines, where Mulaudzi had contacts thanks to his background as a geologist—have been more receptive to the concept of educating people. However, companies still primarily wish to employ a toilet cleaning service—something that doesn’t sit well with Mulaudzi, who’d rather they bought into the longer-term education aspect of the business.

“I am a sanitation educator, not a toilet cleaner,” he says. Asked why the Government is only paying lip service to such challenges, Mulaudzi says if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind for many people.

The government’s inability to embrace sanitation issues has forced Mulaudzi to seek opportunities elsewhere. So he’ll be taking up a position in Singapore next year. The Clean Shop closed its doors six months ago after employing 350 contract workers over the years. At its height, it enjoyed a turnover of R1m/month.

“Internationally, sanitation is a multi-billion dollar industry, but nobody talks about it. Some countries are just more serious about how they’re going to tackle the issues facing their communities than others,” he says.