Water supply and sanitation service delivery challenges in South Africa: a case study of Adams Mission within the eThekwini Municipality.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The lack of basic services affects public's well-being. The South African constitution put emphasis on the delivery of basic services to each citizen in South Africa, regardless of geographic area, race, or any other distinction. The local (municipal) authorities, national and provincial government are responsible for the delivery of these services. This paper specifically give emphasize on equal distribution of basic services that local government (municipalities) is accountable for, with a special focus on water and sanitation. As stated in the Water Services Act (No. 8 of 1997) of South Africa, water service delivery is the responsibility of local government in the form of Water Services Authorities, with the principal legal responsibility of which is to complete a Water Services Development Plan (WSDP) that must be reviewed annually every five years. It is, however, well known that there are alarming levels of inadequate technical and administrative skill in South Africa’s local government when it comes to providing reliable water service delivery. By 2050, urban population is expected to grow, likely increasing challenges faced by municipalities attempting to provide adequate access to water supply and sanitation. This paper provides a framework which details potential improvements to the current system, with Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) as a guideline in the context of South Africa’s legal framework for water services. The framework monitors municipalities to, first, accomplish an adequate WSDP, and subsequently implement gradually-integrated water resource management. The paper also aims to characterise trends regarding access to water and sanitation services in South Africa, focusing particularly on the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, its socio-economic situation, and challenges including poverty, economic stability, and provision of basic services. A quantitative research method was used to collect data from the households of Adams Mission. In total, 291 families were asked to each complete a questionnaire which was used to collect data. Sources of data include the South African media, journals, articles, relevant documents and websites. vii In drawing conclusions, it became clear that there were problems hampering service delivery at Adams Mission within eThekwini Municipality. The main problem was the issue of reliable water supply. Water intermittency resulted in a negative impact on local development, as well as people’s health. From the findings, respondents raised concerns regarding these issues. To obviate these problems recommendations were made to the municipality.