The provision of water and sanitation in previously disadvantaged rural communities: a study of Uthungulu/King Cetshwayo district municipality
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Date
2019
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
The principal aim of the study was to evaluate the status of the provision of water and sanitation in previously disadvantaged rural communities. The study was conducted in uThungulu/King Cetshwayo District Municipality. It was chosen as one of those local municipalities that incorporated rural areas like iNkandla, uMthonjaneni, uMfolozi, uMlalazi and uMhlathuze; where rural dwellers were likely to have no access to essential services. The idea was to evaluate the extent to which these basic services have been delivered to communities that were previously ostracised by the apartheid government and also to determine the strategies and interventions uThungulu/King Cetshwayo District Municipality has for the future development of the rural areas. The human rightsbased approach (HRBA) was used with an aim of enhancing human well-being. The study also intended to investigate whether local governments were able or not to carryout their mandate succinctly as stipulated in the constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), section 87, (to provide basic services to communities). According to the researcher, the widespread of violent service delivery protests across the country (SA), where citizens complain about the poor delivery of essential services, were a sign that it was likely that communities were not afforded an opportunity to participate in the drawing of an integrated development plan(IDP). The quantitative research method was used in this study. The respondents were randomly chosen from uThungulu/King Cetshwayo District Municipality for the study. The questionnaires in a Likert scale; (a five-point scale) were used to solicit data for the study. The SPSS (Version 25) programme was used to process the results. From the findings of the study, it became evident that some parts of rural areas which were previously marginalised have been provided with both water and sanitation. However, residents in the peri-urban were still without piped water and flush/decent well ventilated toilets. The study also revealed that there was a lack of maintenance of the existing infrastructure within the local government. The study therefore, recommended that the policy-makers and politicians should explore the underlying relationship between the level of basic services provided and the violent service delivery protests taking place in municipalities. The provision of these essential services to rural communities would leave an indelible scratch in their minds, marking a realisation of a “Better life for all.”
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the academic requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Arts, University of Zululand, 2020.
Keywords
Water and Sanitation, Disadvantaged Rural Communities