Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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Browsing Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs) by SDG "SDG-6: Clean water and sanitation"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Benchmarking the technical efficiency of south African municipal water utilities: a double bootstrap DEA approach
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Matutu, Amanda; Dikgang, Johane
    Efficiency enhancement in the water sector can help to optimise the use of available resources and mitigate the impact of climate change on water resources, while promoting sustainable water usage. Ultimately, this can lead to cost savings that may be channelled into enhancing service delivery and expanding access to water. Benchmarking is considered a useful method for improving water sector efficiency. The production frontier approach is the most commonly used technique for benchmarking, which can be computed using either non-parametric techniques, including data envelopment analysis (DEA), or parametric methods, including stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). A review of the literature reveals that DEA has become the most frequently used method for efficiency analysis in the water sector. Though a predictable approach, the DEA method may be influenced by measurement errors and anomalies, and it cannot be used to draw statistical conclusions. To address this problem, the double-bootstrap DEA technique was introduced, which permits statistical inference in DEA models. This technique helps the researcher to estimate efficiency scores that have been corrected for bias, and also identifies the factors that influence efficiency. For these reasons, this research employs double-bootstrap DEA to evaluate the efficiency scores of municipal water utilities in the South African water sector. The truncated double-bootstrap regression outcomes show that water consumer debt, consuming units receiving free water, and the effects of climate change (such as temperature variation and altered rainfall patterns) all impact the relative efficiencies of municipal water utilities. The results indicate notable distinctions in rankings and efficiency scores between the double-bootstrap DEA model and the traditional DEA model for both urban and rural municipal water utilities. Using the regression model, this research discovered that water consumer debt and consuming units receiving free water are significant factors influencing the efficiency of urban and rural municipal water utilities. These findings raise concerns about the prospects of South African municipal water utilities, particularly their ability to strike a balance between supporting indigent households and securing revenue for maintenance and future water infrastructure development, as well as efficiently managing water consumer debt and addressing the effects of climate change to deliver desired results consistently and sustainably.
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    Benchmarking the Technical Efficiency of South African Municipal Water Utilities: A Double-Bootstrap Dea Approach
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-03) Matutu, Amanda; Dikgang, Johane
    Efficiency enhancement in the water sector can help to optimise the use of available resources and mitigate the impact of climate change on water resources, while promoting sustainable water usage. Ultimately, this can lead to cost savings that may be channelled into enhancing service delivery and expanding access to water. Benchmarking is considered a useful method for improving water sector efficiency. The production frontier approach is the most commonly used technique for benchmarking, which can be computed using either non-parametric techniques, including data envelopment analysis (DEA), or parametric methods, including stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). A review of the literature reveals that DEA has become the most frequently used method for efficiency analysis in the water sector. Though a predictable approach, the DEA method may be influenced by measurement errors and anomalies, and it cannot be used to draw statistical conclusions. To address this problem, the double-bootstrap DEA technique was introduced, which permits statistical inference in DEA models. This technique helps the researcher to estimate efficiency scores that have been corrected for bias, and also identifies the factors that influence efficiency. For these reasons, this research employs double-bootstrap DEA to evaluate the efficiency scores of municipal water utilities in the South African water sector. The truncated double-bootstrap regression outcomes show that water consumer debt, consuming units receiving free water, and the effects of climate change (such as temperature variation and altered rainfall patterns) all impact the relative efficiencies of municipal water utilities. The results indicate notable distinctions in rankings and efficiency scores between the double-bootstrap DEA model and the traditional DEA model for both urban and rural municipal water utilities. Using the regression model, this research discovered that water consumer debt and consuming units receiving free water are significant factors influencing the efficiency of urban and rural municipal water utilities. These findings raise concerns about the prospects of South African municipal water utilities, particularly their ability to strike a balance between supporting indigent households and securing revenue for maintenance and future water infrastructure development, as well as efficiently managing water consumer debt and addressing the effects of climate change to deliver desired results consistently and sustainably.
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    Trends in reporting on climate change, water and COVID-19 by JSE listed companies
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Seedat, Zakiyyah; Lange, Yvette; Maroun, Warren
    Environmental, social and governance (ESG) information is increasingly demanded by stakeholders as companies face risks and opportunities due to ESG issues, such as climate change, water and COVID-19. ESG disclosure helps reduce information asymmetry for users of company reports and helps companies maintain their social licence to operate. Disclosure is voluntary and this introduces differences in the information disclosed by companies. This study analysed the annual, integrated and ESG reports of the top 40 Johannesburg Securities Exchange (JSE) listed companies. These reports were analysed following an interpretive approach to determine the extent of disclosure on climate change, water and COVID-19 in 2018, 2019 and 2020. This study also considered the change in disclosure on climate change and water over these three years. A disclosure checklist has been developed using professional literature. Content analysis has been used to codify the disclosed information with disclosures being scored using an ordinal scale. Descriptive statistics have been used to analyse and graphically present the data. Exploratory factor analysis has been used for the identification of major disclosure themes. This study contributes to existing research by considering the current state of ESG disclosure at a time when notable developments in the reporting environment have occurred. The findings indicate that companies have focused on quantitative and strategy-related disclosure, indicating the adoption of similar reporting practices by companies. The study also found that there was no significant change in climate change and water disclosure from 2018 to 2020
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    Water innovation and the circular economy in special economic zones in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Bedessy, Kiara; Soumonni, Diran
    In light of the planned economic recovery identified by the South African government, the applicability of various mechanisms, principles and theories which enable economic development should be considered, particularly in the context of growing urbanisation and water scarcity challenges. The first mechanism considered in this study relates to the use of special economic zones to drive industrial growth and as a mechanism of attracting foreign direct investment. The second mechanism relates to the adoption of alternative economic models such as the circular economy (CE) which addresses both economic development and resource challenges. The third mechanism relates to expedition and exploration of technologies aligned to the current technological revolution which is information, communication and technology (ICT) based and is expected to result in a new social and economic paradigm or techno-economic paradigm (TEP). The final mechanism for economic development is related to the promotion of all types of innovation which historically have been linked to economic development. This research report explores these selected recovery mechanisms with a focus on ICT-led circular water innovation and its impact on economic development and developing a green economic paradigm. There is a need to understand the meaning and impact of the CE on economic development in South Africa in light of the economic recovery considerations and the constraints related to water. CE innovation, in all categories, is important given the positive relationship innovation has with economic development and the opportunity to use all types of innovation and not just original innovation as a developing country. In addition, a better understanding of the current global technological revolution is required in order to determine its applicability for the South African context, particularly given its expected culmination into a green techno-economic paradigm which will have a beneficial societal and economic impact. The role of SEZs as a showcase on how circular economy innovation and water technologies have been adopted in an environmentally and economically beneficial manner will assist in providing practicality to the study. Seven of the ten SEZs in South Africa were used as a sample with qualitative, semi-structured interviews conducted with SEZ representatives and water specialists. All interviewees were familiar with the topics of water, innovation and the circular economy in SEZs. Interviews were supplemented with document analyses of water innovation in industries in South Africa. The major findings of this study are that water innovation in the circular economy has a positive environmental impact through the reduction of pollution and improved water security. The socio-economic impact primarily relates to job creation both in new industries that are emerging from offtakes and new service models and there is potential for green jobs. There are many types of ICT enabled water innovation adopted within the SEZs with water monitors being the most prevalent. From a techno-economic paradigm perspective when measured against the TEP criteria of low cost, opportunities for entrepreneurship and organisational change, only the criterion of cost reduction has been observed in this study with entrepreneurship and organisational change lagging. However, the potential exists to create clusters of innovation which include water monitors, robotics and data analytics as a cluster or desalination, renewable energy (hydro and solar power) and low-cost membranes as another cluster. These clusters when coupled with government support through entrepreneurship incubation and policy incentives, have the potential to hasten the technological revolution through increased innovation, adoption and diffusion of technologies. This is however a collaborative effort wherein both the private and public sector need to work together to build an ICT enabled circular economy to create new green growth and economic development