Approximately 100 unemployed young people in the Matjhabeng Local Municipality were employed as part of the Sanitation Learnership programme that was launched on Tuesday by the municipality.

Each one of the councillors of the 39 wards in the municipality was tasked with providing the department of water and energy with CVs of 10 young people that qualified for the learnership. The selected candidates received letters of acceptance to the programme.

“Too many people lack access to sanitation and live without access to clean water in the municipality. The Sanitation Learnership programme will not only benefit the Matjhabeng Local Municipality at large but will also enrich the lives of the people who participate in it, individually,” said the executive mayor of the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, Sebenzile Ngangelizwe.

He said the programme will run for 12 months and will be divided into theory and practical components, which will run for six months each.

Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes as well as the treatment and proper disposal of sewage wastewater. Hazards can be physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease.

Wastes that can cause health problems include human and animal faeces, solid wastes, domestic wastewater (sewage, sullage, and grey water), industrial wastes and agricultural wastes. Hygienic means of prevention can be by using engineering solutions for example sewerage and wastewater treatment, simple technologies like latrines, septic tanks, or even by personal hygiene practices like simply washing hands with soap.

The learners will receive an in-depth introduction to water, sanitation and hygiene. They will also be introduced to how a laboratory works, and the various ways to manage waste.

When they have completed the learnership programme, these 100 learners will be qualified enough to either start their own practices or join the municipalities water departments.

“I feel very privileged to have been admitted to this programme. It is very difficult nowadays to find employment, especially without qualifications or experience. This learnership will put a lot of homes in a better position than they previously were,” said Mojabeng Lisele (26) from Odendaalsrus, Ward 19.

Most of the candidates that were chosen for the learnership are between the age group of 18 to 30. They will be attending classes three times a week and must have a 100% attendance register to contribute to their pass rate.

“Unemployment among the Matjhabeng youth has decreased from 60.3 percent in 2001 to 49.7 percent, and this figure remains unacceptably high. Initiatives like this programme will ensure that we can decrease it even more by 2014,” said Ngangelizwe.