Analysis of public policies and programmes to water security in post-apartheid South Africa
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Date
2021
Authors
Adom, Richard
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Abstract
South Africa is a water stressed country with increasing pressure on water
resources due to population growth, increasing levels of urbanisation, inadequate
funding in water infrastructure, and the impacts of climate change, resulting in
growing demand for water resources. The post-government in 1994 initiated many
policies and programmes with the aim of promoting water security. While these
policies and strategies achieved much in terms of water provision to communities
and households, they failed to establish a water-conscious country with sufficient
knowledge and expertise in water management. Furthermore, these policies and
programmes are outdated, compartmentalised, complex, and lack robust water
governance with resilient stakeholder partnerships that advance the more explicit
second phase of the NDP to achieve water security under the threat of climate
change. A total of 20 respondents were selected purposely from the Department of
water and sanitation and other private institutions in the water sector to participate
in semi-structured and in-depth interviews. Additionally, 89 questionnaires were
distributed to respondents in four provinces in South Africa. The questions sought
to analyse the structural and systematic factors hindering the implementation of
policies to achieve water security in South Africa. The results revealed that in the
context of policy formulation the country has enacted numerous policies and
programmes aimed at promoting water security. However, the policies and
programmes do not go far enough to address the challenges of municipalities as
the major polluters, nor solving the funding gaps and creating a smart water
economy. The study, therefore, recommends an independent water regulator to be
established to coordinate different government departments, including the National
Treasury to strengthen weak governance capacity and to make it independent to
attract private equity into the sector, and to recover fiscal deficits in the water
sector.
Description
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Faculty of Science, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021
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Citation
Adom, Richard (2020) Analysis of public policies and programmes to water security in post-apartheid South Africa, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://hdl.handle.net/10539/32297>