Grahamstown's unhealthy bucket toilet system is almost eradicated with just 140 of the bucket toilets that need to be replaced.
On Tuesday Makana executive mayor Zamaxolo Peter donned and overall, hard hat and takkies and was photographed taking away one of the last buckets.
Calling it his "Valentine's Day gift" to married, single and unmarried mothers, he said his council had found R2.1m in the Makana budget to finish off the mission.
It was national and provincial governments' "competency" to provide sewerage infrastructure, but he his council was "at the coal face" and was facing increasing public and media pressure over the buckets.
A so-called "Mbeki Project", the eradication programme became stalled "due to internal challenges", but got going again and since then 3 387 buckets had been replaced with flush toilets.
Retired Grand Hotel chef and pensioner Thobise Matomele, 78, showed this journalist her bucket in her home. It was overflowing and stank to the point of retching.
She said seven people used it and often municipal trucks did not appear to empty it for three weeks.
"We take it and throw it in the bush over there" she said indicating a distance of over 300m. We are all getting sick from this bucket. Last year it was full of worms."
Sidney Toto, 54, said 20 years of using the bucket was "too long".
Mayor Peter said: "People can assist by not squatting illegally."
