COMMENT

About a week ago a municipal official contacted one of the partners of the Asivikelane network trying to find out why his municipality had still not been given the green light in our bi-weekly findings, even after they had delivered water tanks to informal settlements. 

When this query was followed up with community leaders, it was discovered that in one settlement, tanks had been delivered but not yet filled with water.  In another settlement, there were not enough water points for the number of households in the settlement and existing taps were broken. 

After this exchange of information, the municipality addressed these problems, illustrating the power of citizens to hold the government to account with collective action.

Asivikelane provides a platform for residents in informal settlements to communicate severe water, sanitation and refuse removal shortages during the Covid-19 crisis. It is a growing network that already brings together 153 informal settlements in five metropolitan municipalities and five smaller towns. 

The number of informal settlements grow rapidly, as response time to basic service issues is reduced and other nongovernmental organisations join the campaign. Every two weeks, more than 428 participants from informal settlements are asked three simple questions: Was water available every time that you needed it over the last week? Were the toilets cleaned in the last seven days? Was waste collected in your settlement in the last seven days?

There is obvious and clear evidence that hygiene and handwashing has a direct correlation to  the spread of the pandemic. Every possible resource has to be centred to ensure that the estimated 1.2-million households in informal settlements and the invisible number of “backyarders” have access to water and decent sanitation. 

But we should not waste this crisis by only focusing on the short term. This is the precise moment to think further and address the matter of basic services once and for all. Here are five reasons why it is essential for the future: 

Firstly, access to water, decent sanitation and basic services is a constitutional right. It is enshrined in our Bill of Rights, section 27, which reads: “Everyone has the right to have access to sufficient food and water … The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of these rights.” 

Secondly, this campaign is not just about services, but fundamentally about agency and voice. In our current paradigm, these are largely being determined by the patronage of local politicians and/or local government officials. Taps and toilets are frequently installed with no consultation or in areas that are either completely over serviced, or where they cater to the needs of a few. Through this campaign, citizens are voicing their concerns in the most evidential and direct manner. And as such, collectively holding all spheres of government accountable.

Thirdly, basic services are not simply a resourcing issue, but about prioritisation. The servicing of informal settlements and backyarders haven’t been given the priority they deserve. Each year, millions are underspent on grants to local government that are precisely there to service these areas. Where money is spent, substandard services are often installed because “these are for informal settlements”. 

This campaign highlights that we need to move beyond talking about simply dumping taps and toilets, but exploring new avenues for water and sanitation. Groundbreaking examples come from India, where communities run and manage facilities.

Fourth, the campaign isn’t just about demonstrating the gaps in service delivery, but sharing positive responses too. In many instances, the municipalities and metros are using this data to ensure that they respond urgently to the needs. Water tanks have been delivered in many metros, countless taps and toilets repaired and protective gear and sanitisers distributed to communities to clean communal toilets. Many of these examples highlight the dualistic role of the campaign — recognising improvements when they happen and improving service delivery. Ultimately this is not a monitoring and evaluation tool, but a platform for co-production and engagement.

Finally, the campaign is under no illusion that basic services will alleviate the root causes of poverty and inequality. But it definitely is a step towards restoring dignity to the millions living in extreme poverty. This effort needs to translate, with the support of civil society, into completely rethinking our ability to release well-located land, tenure security for the poor and an economic future that they can determine.

As the campaign gains momentum, we are putting this challenge forward to the nation — can we address the most fundamental needs for our citizens? And will this be the beginning of a new way of charting a comprehensive response to poverty and inequality that doesn’t rely on patronage?  

COMMENT

What started out as a prolonged school holiday in March, has since turned into an education nightmare. 

In most instances, the extended Covid-19 lockdown has forced teachers to transition from classrooms to online learning overnight, with all the upskilling and reimagining of material that this particular shift entails. Parents have similarly had to adapt and are now trying to support their children in their interactive lessons and digital assignments, often while working from home at the same time. 

Even schools that have e-learning infrastructure in place have been ill-prepared for the cognitive and emotional demands that this approach places on teachers, parents, and, in particular, learners. Schools that have neither the digital infrastructure nor the experience to fall back on have been flailing. Given that some form of lockdown learning will likely remain with us for the foreseeable future, how can we improve on this challenging educational experience?

Teachers, this is not business as usual

The stress of this experience cannot be underestimated, and children are not immune to it. Learners’ sense of anxiety, as well as their attention spans and levels of motivation, are likely to be negatively affected by the shift to online learning, and teachers need to factor this into their teaching plans.

One of the biggest challenges for learners is not having a clear understanding of where a particular piece of work fits into the larger picture. They struggle to make connections between different sections, fail to understand the relevance of core foundational concepts, and are unable to relate new knowledge to what they already know. This experience is exacerbated in the virtual space, especially when the normal scaffolding (such as impromptu examples, formative assessments, et cetera) that teachers intuitively provide during classroom lessons is unavailable. 

In the online environment, teachers can help students manage their cognitive load by providing them with bite-size pieces of information that they can easily digest while linking this new information to previous material.  This will go a long way in helping students navigate and master new work as part of a cohesive learning path. Crucial to this approach is the use of technology platforms that act as a single point of entry and that tie the material together coherently, rather than requiring constant task switching which only adds to the cognitive load of students. 

Parents, a supportive home is critical

Lockdown has afforded parents the unique opportunity of observing how their children are dealing with their adjusted schooling. They are likely to be their children’s first port of call if they struggle to understand material or how their teachers have put courses together. This experience — combined with the many other anxieties that Covid-19 has brought with it  — is likely to be extremely stressful for parents. It is crucial, however, for parents to ensure that this stress doesn’t spill over on to their children.

Of course, it is healthy and necessary to share concerns about the effects of Covid-19 on the future and the economy. But parents shouldn’t allow their own fears, specifically about the lockdown learning environment, to become an additional burden. It’s important to remember that children also have the support of their teachers and that they will eventually figure out the technology and find a way of working with it — especially if they have the proper emotional support at home.

Parents can also help children by assisting them with their time management. During ordinary school days, children’s schedules are often guided by timetables, homework requirements and various deadlines — and even then they battle. In the lockdown environment, parents need to establish a fixed routine that includes time allocations for each subject. Fuelling learners’ flagging motivation by helping them to look beyond the immediate uncertainty caused by Covid-19 is equally important.

The future of lockdown learning

It’s likely that the new normal will include some kind of lockdown learning for a long time to come. It’s also clear that, in order for us to navigate this future, we will have to rely on technology more than ever before.

For our ongoing educational initiatives to provide schooling that is on par with pre-Covid-19 standards, we will require more than the emergency measures that make up our current lockdown learning solutions. Going forward, schools will have to think carefully about implementing technologies that enable and support learning. If sanity prevails, these technologies — together with the support of properly trained teachers and prepared parents — should win the day.

COVID-19 update: Saturday, 30 May 2020

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Twitter that the number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa now stand at 30 967; an increase of 1 727 since Friday 29 May 2020.

Deaths also increased by 32, standing at a total of 642. A total of 16 116 people have recovered from the novel coronavirus. Health Minister Zweli Mhize added:

“The total number of deaths is 643 and recoveries to date are 16 116 which translates to a recovery rate of 52%.”

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize

Breakdown of new confirmed COVID-19 cases

New cases, deaths and recoveries by province

The confirmed COVID-19 cases per province is as follows:

Tests and screening

On Thursday evening, Minister Mkhize also addressed the backlog of more than 96 000 unprocessed COVID-19 tests. He explained that limited availability of kits poses a challenge. As of today:

• A total of 680 175 tests have been conducted, of which 24 452 were done in the last 24 hours.
• The total number of tests conducted in the private sector stands at 335 834, of which 13 555 were done in the last 24 hours.
• In addition, 344 341 tests were conducted in the public sector, with 10 897 being done within the last 24 hours.

Also read – Mkhize cites backlog of over 96 000 COVID-19 tests