Provision of water and sanitation in Kopanong Local Municipality.

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study provides a review of the key service delivery challenges in relation to the provision of water and sanitation services in Kopanong Local Municipality. The recent wave of unrest at the local sphere of government in South Africa, with specific reference to Kopanong Local Municipality, questions the ability of the municipality to provide basic services, such as water and sanitation, to the community. There is an assumption that the challenges range from inadequate capacity in technical and administrative skills in local government to deliver water and sanitation services. To test this general assumption, a qualitative study has been undertaken to investigate the factors that hinder the municipality from adequately fulfilling these responsibilities. In view of the challenges facing municipalities to deliver these services, the key debates hinge on how best the municipalities can leverage available resources to ensure that the provision of water and sanitation is done in an affordable and sustainable manner. The study comprises five chapters. It reviews the conceptual and legislative framework governing local government in the delivery of water and sanitation services to the community, the extent to which the municipality complied with this mandate, as well as challenges encountered along the way, and finally it recommend necessary interventions to be undertaken by the municipality in carrying out its developmental mandate. Findings are based on the assessment of municipal documents, stakeholders‘ interventions and interviews with officials involved in the provision of water and sanitation within and outside the municipality. Recommendations are presented on the way in which the municipality can adequately deliver water and sanitation services to the community in a sustainable manner, taking into account issues such as planning, infrastructure development, institutional capacity and the financial viability of the municipality.