4. Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETDs) - Faculties submissions
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Item The role of institutional arrangements in post-flood disaster management in South Africa, focusing on Kwa-Zulu Natal Province, Mphela Township and Ncakubana Communities(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-10) Nyide, Sindisiwe; Grab, Stefan; Simatele, Mulala DannySouth African officials and communities grapple with various matters after flood disasters. This thesis used a combination of qualitative and quantitative data collection approaches to explore possible systematic and structural weaknesses in addressing post-flood disasters in South Africa. The study investigated whether post-disaster management in disaster-vulnerable urban and rural communities contributes towards disaster resilience and adaptive capacity to achieve sustainable development. The need stemmed from the Country's high frequency and magnitude of disasters, including floods, droughts, and fires. The Government implemented different policies and strategies after 1994 to address flood disasters. While acknowledging some success in managing these disasters with the current adaptive measures, the frequency and intensity of disasters have increased, causing significant loss of life, environmental damage, and properties, particularly among the vulnerable population. Since this was a national study, participants came from across South Africa. The random sampling selected 35 Ncakubana Village and Mphela Township community members. Other selected participants were seven and six focus group members, respectively. In contrast, purposive and snowball samples chose 34 disaster management officials. Moreover, the purposive sampling selected two ward councillors and six advisory forum members. There were open-ended and closed-ended questions in the interview schedules and questionnaire surveys. The researcher also used observation to gather information on variables of interest during transect walks in the study areas. The study conducted an intensive documentary analysis to obtain more information. Descriptive statistical techniques, Microsoft Excel, and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences were employed to examine the quantitative data. Thematic analysis was for qualitative data analysis to review data from open-ended questions and literature. The study employed Atlasti software for inductive content analysis to identify research codes and themes and the Word Cloud tool to visualise textual data. For quantitative results, 33 disaster management officials responded that disaster-specific Acts and Policies are in place. According to 21 disaster management officials, or 62% of all participants, their organisations have vulnerable groups' specific policies. Multistakeholder complications were the most frequently mentioned challenge by participants. They mentioned them 23 times, 68% of the total participants. Challenges stated, among others, included funding and administrative matters. Most of the respondents, 75% identified funding as the biggest problem. Qualitatively, the thesis uncovered that disaster management is a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary field. Although various institutional arrangements exist, they do not seem appropriate for assisting vulnerable groups post-disaster. Floods appeared to be the most frequent natural disaster in South Africa. Floods severely affected vulnerable people, particularly women, the elderly, children, and people with physical disabilities. While officials have made some progress on implementing post-flood disaster projects, they appear inadequate to assist vulnerable groups in dealing with floods. Furthermore, regrettably, despite the level of success in addressing disasters, most measures have failed to achieve the intended results for various reasons. The participants identified multiple tangible and intangible opportunities. They subsequently proposed that Disaster Management Centres develop various noteworthy documents, intensify the dissemination of post-disaster information across numerous platforms, obtain post-disaster funding and adequate personnel, and establish or revitalise structures. The suggested consolidated long-term measures by the participants yielded a proposed South African Post-flood Disaster Checklist or Model, which was non-existent in South Africa. By implementing more effective and efficient post-disaster measures, the proposed tool can help policymakers and strategic partners standardise post-disaster resilience and adaptive capacity in various sectors' sustainability contexts. The aim is to have post-flood disaster resilient communities with adaptive capacity to achieve sustainable development.Item Gender-based inequalities in access to water and sanitation in South Africa: Case study of two informal settlements(University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Ntwana, Bukiwe; Wafer, AThis study is concerned with understanding the specific configurations of the institutional and infrastructural arrangements in two informal settlements that exacerbate or mitigate women's access to water and sanitation services. The study draws on a comparative case study design with some elements of ethnographic design in two informal settlements based in Cape Town and Johannesburg as case studies. The QQ Section informal settlement is situated in Cape Town, Khayelitsha. The settlement is dense, it is located on state-owned land with servitudes and it falls under the City of Cape Town municipality (CoCT) which is governed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) and it falls within Ward 89, which is an African National Congress (ANC) led Ward. The second settlement is the Marlboro South informal settlement, which is situated in Johannesburg, Marlboro. The settlement is located in an industrial area with shacks situated inside and outside around abandoned private-owned warehouses. Marlboro South falls under the City of Johannesburg (CoJ), which was governed by the DA from 2016 to 2019 when the fieldwork of this study was conducted. Furthermore, Marlboro South is divided into two wards, Ward 108 is ANC-led and Ward 109 is DA-led. Both settlements further adhere to other formal and informal institutions of power such as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and community leadership institutions. All these factors have shaped water and sanitation services, which further affect women’s access to these services in both settlements. The study reveals that the effects of the institutional and infrastructural arrangements on water and sanitation result in women experiencing unsafe access, health and hygiene challenges, maintenance challenges of water and sanitation facilities, gender-based discrimination at the household and community levels and the marginalisation of women resulting from not having private connections to water and sanitation infrastructure in the two case studies. This study uses the qualitative research approach, the data was collected using in-depth household interviews, focus group discussions and key informant interviews in both settlements. The sampling method used in this study was purposive sampling with women as the study respondents in the two informal settlements