Community perceptions regarding challenges associated with water and sanitation: a comparative study of four selected rural communities in Ndwedwe local Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal.

Abstract

The issue of poor access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is rampant. Even though WASH is a basic human right, many citizens in developing countries lack access to these services. Lack of WASH creates negative implications such as lack of productivity due to transmission of waterborne diseases which limits people from sustaining their livelihoods. Apart from the lack of WASH provision in SSA, disparities in service provision between urban and rural areas remains a challenge for development. Rural areas are lagging in achieving adequate access to WASH as compared to their urban counterpart. The recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the importance of sufficient access to safe WASH. Thus, WASH services are therefore a necessity to all, especially to rural areas in developing countries as they are most affected from the lack of these services. In light of the above, this study assessed community perceptions regarding challenges associated with access to WASH services in four selected rural communities in Ndwedwe Local Municipality. The overall aim of the study is to assess whether the challenges experienced by rural communities with access to WASH services are equally shared. To achieve this aim, it was first important to understand the efforts (in policy and practice) made to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the current barriers to WASH provision across rural SSA. Hence, an extensive literature review was conducted for contextual understanding and evaluation of the barriers to WASH in SSA, post establishment of SDGs. A case study approach was utilised for the reviewing of current barriers to WASH provision in SSA. The overall findings of the literature review suggest that the root causes and impacts of the current barriers to WASH provision in SSA remain largely common amongst many countries, particularly in urban areas. In comparison, the current barriers to WASH provision are more complex to understand for rural communities. Thus, this study used a number of theories to explore the barriers to WASH provision in order to contextualise local community perceptions. The sustainable livelihoods approach, political economy, political ecology, and urban bias theory were utilised to contextualise the complexity of WASH provision within these communities. This study undertook comparative research among households from four selected rural communities (known as Mkhukhuze, Msunduze, Intaphuka and Kwazini). These four communities are comparative based on the level of access to primary services and their geographical location. The Mkhukhuze and Msunduze communities have improved access to WASH services such as reticulated water and infrastructure as compared to the Intaphuka and Kwazini communities. This study used a triangulation research approach as it utilised both quantitative and qualitative methods. The four rural communities were selected on the basis of the municipality’s ongoing challenges associated with the provision of water and sanitation. This study employed snowball and purposive sampling techniques. Regarding the quantitative data, a questionnaire survey was employed. An inclusion and exclusion criteria was used to administer the questionnaires in the four communities. All four communities were included in the questionnaire survey as they do not have access to water. While households with residents who have not lived for more than five years within the communities were excluded. A total of four hundred questionnaires were administered to the four communities. Data collected from questionnaires was processed through Statistical Package for Social Science version 28, presented, and analysed descriptively. In respect to qualitative data, participatory rural appraisal (PRA) exercises were held among focus groups consisting of ten female respondents within each rural community. Inclusion and exclusion criteria was utilised to select the female participants for the PRA exercises. The PRA methods utilised were namely problem ranking matrix, Venn diagrams, mental mapping, and transect walks. The qualitative data was analysed thematically. Overall, the demographic results show that there were more females than males who participated in this study. Similarly, the results indicate that the majority of the households visited were female-headed, with the exception of the Kwazini community (with 57% male-headed households). With regards to educational attainment, most of the respondents in the Msunduze (66%) and Intaphuka (57%) communities did not complete secondary school. Across the communities, most respondents depended on unsustainable income sources, but 73% of the respondents in Kwazini community depended on sustainable wages as their household’s primary source of monthly income. Access to water provision is lacking among the four selected rural communities. As a result, households utilise alternative water sources such as rivers and streams with majority of respondents in Intaphuka (61%), Msunduze (49%), and Kwazini (45%). These sources are not reliable and often contaminated with domestic waste and sharing of livestock which result in a risk to the environment and human health. The Mkhukhuze community is the only community with a functional water system (borehole) and 41% of respondents indicated that they are accessing water from this infrastructure. Access to piped water is minimal with only 18% and 14% of respondents in the Mkhukhuze and Msunduze communities, respectively. Poor sanitation at household level also exists as most respondents in Msunduze (54%) and Kwazini (52%) communities are still using pit latrines without ventilation. Some households are subjected to open defecation as 10% of respondents in the Intaphuka community do not have any sanitation facility. Lack of basic handwashing facilities is also widespread in these four communities, with the Kwazini community leading with majority of respondents (76%) unable to practice safe hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results also reveal that there is corruption in the water supply of water tankers within the communities as truck drivers sell water illegally to residents within the four communities. To address inadequate access to WASH, suggestions such as community involvement (95%) and stakeholder partnership (90%) were motivated by the respondents in the four communities. WASH policy and reform must be implemented within rural areas to ensure adequate provision of services. Empowering and educating rural communities in water projects and maintenance of water infrastructure must be promoted to ensure the sustainability of infrastructure. Community involvement in reducing corruption in rural water distribution and water treatments in rural systems should also be encouraged to ensure sufficient access to improved WASH.