Research Report 

 

 

The role of the Kgetlengrivier Citizens Group on the administration of water 

services 

 

Masters in Management 

 

 

Student: Lourensa Eckard 

 

Supervisor: Prof. Pundy Pillay 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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INDEX 

 

 

1. Introduction                                                                                       page 4 

1.2 Research problem                                                                                    page 6 

1.3 Research questions                                                                                  page 7 

1.4 Research purpose and objectives                                                            page 7 

2. Literature review                                                                                       page 8 

3. Methodology and field work                                                                     page 17 

4. Analysis and findings                                                                                page 20 

5. Discussion                                                                                    page 33 

6. Conclusion                   page 33 

 

 

References                                                                                           page 33 

Appendices                                                                                          page 43 

 

 

 

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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I, Lourensa Eckard (student number: 2356271). Declare that this research is my 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DECLARATION 



 4 

 

The role of the Kgetlengrivier Citizens Group on the administration of water services  

 

 

1. Introduction  

There are many service delivery challenges in various municipalities across South Africa. A 

cursory look at the annual municipal report by the auditor-general provides  a bleak picture. 

The auditor-general described  a general breakdown in local government (2019 - 20 MFMA 

Media Release 30 June 2021, 2021). The effects of a lack of service delivery  cannot always 

be easily quantified. What is clear, however, is that residents suffer greatly when basic 

services are not delivered.  

 

The North West province was singled out by the auditor-general for particularly poor 

municipal management (Felix, 2021). In the case of the Kgetlengrivier municipality in the 

North West province, the issue of water and sanitation has recently come to the fore because 

of  the manner in which local residents decided to respond to a lack of service delivery, 

especially water and sanitation. The municipality was placed under administration in 2018 by 

the then premier Job Mokgoro (Montsho, 2018).  This is truly a service delivery failure  that 

affects all the residents in this municipality  

 

In the case of power cuts and load-shedding, there are, of course, those who have the 

resources to procure generators and other devices that help to keep the lights on. It could be 

argued that those same people would be able to afford water storage systems that would see 

them unaffected by a lack of a stable water supply. However,  these systems are ultimately 

also still reliant on the municipality for water that is safe to consume.  

 

The Kgetlengrivier Concerned Citizens (KCC)  group took the municipality to court.  On 

December 2020, and in a judgement without precedent, Judge Festus Gura granted an order 

that the KCC could take over the waterworks, as the municipality had failed in its 

constitutional mandate to provide water for the municipality, stating that “The Applicant be 

authorised to take control of the sewerage works at Koster and Swartruggens, to appoint or 

employ suitably qualified people to operate the sewerage works and that the reasonable costs 

for such work be paid jointly and severally by the MEC responsible for Environmental 

Affairs, KLM and the Bojanala Platinum District Municipality (“Bojanala”).” (Kgetlengrivier 



 5 

Concerned Citizens & Another v Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality & Others, 2021).  The 

order was temporary, with the KCC taking control of the sewerage and water works from 7 

January 2021 tot 13 Mei 2021.  

 

It has been argued that the decentralisation of water provision has contributed to many 

municipalities not being able to do that, due to a lack of financial capacity (e.g.,Weaver et al., 

2019). This may or may not be the case with  the Kgetlengrivier municipality, but in any 

event, the KCC  took over the water works of the municipality, without an electoral mandate.  

 

Furthermore, it is of utmost importance to recognize “elected and traditional authority 

structures” when it comes to the actions of citizens in addressing a lack of water service 

delivery (Bulled, 2016). A key question in this regard is the following: Does the KCC , a 

ratepayers organisation, represent a traditional or elected authority structure? As stated by 

Koehler (2018), the improvement of water service delivery rests on a perception of 

responsibility by the actors in charge of the implementation of a legal mandate. Did the 

executive members of the KCC have a perception of responsibility of implementing the legal 

mandate provided to them by the court order given by judge Gura? 

 

The primary analytical approach will be a focus on exploring what the decision making 

process of the KCC entailed, and when they were granted the order to take over the water 

works. Further questions relate to  their main focus; how  they reached consensus; what were 

their challenges; and what were their successes and  their failures. This case study is a very 

interesting one in that it was not a move to privatize water services, but rather one that 

attempted to utilize public resources more efficiently and effectively. Everyday international 

political economy provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the role of citizens and 

organisations in affecting the governance of resources such as water (Meissner & Ramasar, 

2015). The case of the KCC taking over the water services of the Kgetlengrivier local 

municipality, is an opportunity to evaluate the relationship between individuals (the executive 

members of the KCC) and the state.  

 

Inequality in South Africa manifests itself in many spheres, access to water being one of 

them. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba (2018) has argued that sanitation is dignity, and certain 

households in South Africa are able to water vast lawns, while in other communities a single 

tap is shared by many families. If the state fails in providing water and sanitation to its 



 6 

citizens, as was pointed out  in the court order pertaining to the Kgetlengrivier municipality, 

and private citizens step in to try and remedy this, the way it was done is considered here as 

an important  topic of research because it might create a precedent for other beleaguered 

municipalities.  However, this does not however imply that the research should focus as a 

roadmap for other organisations or groupings, but rather to explore this particular case study 

in a qualitative manner, to try and explain why the KCC  did what they did. 

 

 

1.2 Research problem 

Local government faces many challenges with regard to service delivery. As residents 

become more and more frustrated, there is anecdotal evidence of parallel governance 

structures forming. The KCC  is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that 

was essentially given the keys to the water services of the Kgetlengrivier municipality. Their 

approach was not merely a civil society approach, as they did not want to only put pressure 

on the municipality to provide services; they wanted to take over the water services, which 

they eventually did. It is argued that the court order granting the KCC temporary control of 

the water services of the Kgetlengrivier municipality is sufficient in demonstrating the failure 

of the municipality to render water services to the community. A more detailed discussion on 

the background regarding the failure of the Kgetlengrivier municipality to render water 

services is beyond the scope of this research. The court order referenced is the seminal event 

underlying the research. 

 

The problem, however, is that this group of residents was  not democratically elected;  they 

did not even officially align with any political party. From a governance perspective, what 

they were allowed to do is unprecedented. There is no official policy or mandate that applied 

to them, which  also raises questions of accountability. What needs to be looked at is the 

governance structure, if any, of the KCC. Did they consider issues such as public inclusion? 

Was there any attempt on their part at engaging in public consultation with community 

members who are not part of the Kgetlengrivier Concerned Citizens group? Allowing 

unelected citizens to take over public services might happen again, and if that happens the 

stated research might contribute to a better understanding of the decision making as it 

pertains to this particular case. To be clear, the problem statement is not the inability of the 

municipality to render water services, but rather how the KCC is constituted and how this 



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ultimately influenced decision making within the organization. The problem investigated in 

this research is how private, unelected citizens decided to manage public infrastructure to 

deliver services to a community. 

 

1.3 Research questions 

The primary research question for this study is the following: what informed the decision 

making process of the executive members of the KCC during the time that they administered 

the water services of the Kgetlengrivier municipality?  This question is quite broad, but the 

aim of the research is to better understand the intricacies and perspectives of human 

behaviour.  

The secondary questions are the following : a) Did the members of the KCC have a unified 

purpose? and b) Was the KCC’s aim to force government to respond, or did they realistically 

think that they could take over the plants in the long term? 

 

 

1.4 Research Purpose and objectives 

This research aims to explore how the KCC, a non-governmental, non-political organisation, 

made decisions which ultimately impacted the whole community. Seeing as this was the first 

time in South Africa’s democratic history that a court order of this nature was granted, this is 

an opportunity to critically explore how this group of private citizens interpreted what service 

delivery means and how this contributed to their decision making. Within the context of 

decision making, the objectives of the research are to: 

1. identify the forces that influenced the KCC’s decision making process; 

2. evaluate the frameworks that supported the executive members of the KCC in making 

decisions; and 

3. explore the views held by the executive members of the KCC as it relates to service 

delivery. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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2. Literature Review  

Water management is perhaps one of the most pressing and complex challenges in South 

Africa, given the wide array of environmental, socio-economic and political factors. Ensuring 

access to clean drinking water is paramount and the effective management of water services 

is essential. This literature report presents recent studies focused on water management, 

within the South African and international contexts. A Synthesis of the findings elucidates 

the various themes and complexities that inform water management.  

 

The Water Services Act of (1997) provides “for the rights of access to basic water supply and 

basic sanitation; to provide for the setting of national standard and of norms and standards for 

tariffs; to provide for water services development plans; to provide a regulatory framework 

for water services institutions and water services intermediaries…”.   

 

The act also states that the various water services authorities have a duty to customer and 

consumers to ensure “efficient, affordable, economical and sustainable access to water 

services” (1997). In this context, it becomes crystalized to the point where it is legally and 

constitutionally incumbent for water authorities to provide South Africans with clean 

drinking water. What does this look like in practice? Jiménez et al. (2020) argue that the core 

functions of water governance are planning and preparedness, financing, monitoring and 

evaluation, regulation and capacity development. Research by Harris (2020) reveals that there 

is a statistical link between water quality and satisfaction and trust in the South African 

government.  

 

Post-apartheid redress formed part of the water management legislation, with the aim of 

ensuring access to water for all and not just for some (Sinha & Kumar, 2019).  However, 

research by Lebek et al. (2021) illustrates  that despite legislation, more that 3 million South 

Africans still do not have access to safe drinking water, especially in the rural areas of the 

country.  The spatial legacy of apartheid is very much still a factor with regard to access to 

water. Research by Yerema et al. (2020) shows that water quality has improved in former 

white areas, but  it has greatly deteriorated in other areas of the country.  

 

Research on efficiency in South Africa’s water sector indicates, however, that broadly 

speaking, South Africa has performed adequately when it comes to the technical efficiencies 



 9 

in the water sector (Brettenny & Sharp, 2016). In other words, there is an adequate amount of 

technicians, infrastructure and other input measures that would contribute to the adequate 

output of water services. Between 2002 and 2021, the percentage of households in South 

Africa that had access to an improved water sources generally increased from 84,4% to 

88,7% (Africa, 2022).  It is notable however that during this same period there was a decline 

of 2,2 percentage points in households of the North West province’s access to improved 

sources of water (Africa, 2022).  Research by Zenelabden & Dikgang (2022) reveals that in 

South Africa the satisfaction of water services is strongly influenced by psychological and 

behavioural factors, including social comparison and although this would pose challenges to 

policy makers, the feedback given by citizens will still have value in addressing water service 

delivery challenges.  

 

The purpose of the research is not to delve into the myriad reasons why water service 

delivery is lacking in many municipalities, but it bears stating that it is legislated and as 

mentioned, it is on the whole, ostensibly informed by technical efficiencies. Government 

alluded to this in a report by the National Planning Commission (2020), stating that the 

legislation is adequate, but implementation falls short. The aim of the Water Services act is 

clear: in theory, South Africans should have access to safe drinking water, but in practice this 

is not always the case. Furthermore, water boards play a pivotal role as service providers to 

municipalities, by managing water supply (Lubout, 2010). Water service reforms, of which 

there have been in South Africa, also depends on the adequate collection of revenue in the 

form of rates and taxes, because there are very few alternative sources of funding for the 

agents providing water services in South Africa (Jensen & Chindarkar, 2019).  

 

South Africa is not unique in this sense, as there are many countries grappling with poor 

service delivery as it relates to the provision of drinking water. Countries in Sub-Saharan 

Africa have some of the lowest measured levels of access to drinking water in the world 

(Roche et al., 2017). A study conducted by Estache & Kouassi (2002) looked at a sample of 

water utilities in 21 African countries and found that only 12,9% of them operated at efficient 

levels. This is a complex issue in the Sub-Saharan African region, as economic growth does 

not automatically translate into an increase in access to safe drinking water (Fuente et al., 

2020). The Asian continent is another example, as many  countries there  have, over the past 

decade experienced high rates of  economic growth, but in South Asia specifically, 200 

million people do not  have access to safe drinking water (Davis, 2004).  



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Many, if not most, municipalities in South Africa could be classified as falling into the 

“developing” context. Research also suggests that competing interests, such as those of water 

utility providers, privately owned companies, communities, and government organs, can 

often play a leading role in either enforcing or blocking reforms and innovation as regards 

water governance systems (Daniell et al, 2014). As such it is necessary to look at the different 

role-players and interest groups when conducting research on water governance.  A 

relevant  case-study is the peri-urban town of Yangon in Myanmar, where researchers found 

that a lack of capacity by the local government structures tasked with supplying safe drinking 

water to residents, contributed to water insecurity (Groot & Bayrak, 2019). So even though 

officials had every intention to deliver water services, these efforts were hamstrung by 

capacity constraints. This is a theme that is observed in the South African context as well.  

 

As it relates to best practice and lessons of experience, the civil society organisation, Water 

for Dignity (WfD) in the Makana Local Municipality provides insight into the research 

problem and questions of this research. According to Weaver et al. (2019), it is vital for 

members of a community, such as the members of WfD to have access to a space where there 

can be both physical engagement and virtual spaces to develop skills needed to be involved in 

the water service delivery processes. Weaver et al. (2017)  further posits that there are various 

limitations standing in the way of people to fully understand complicated systems, which 

include time and financial resources, and for this reason it is important to focus on the detail 

needed to ensure adequate decision making. This research will explore whether the members 

of the KCC had the necessary access to spaces that would have developed skills to better 

understand water service delivery processes and what was the level of detail needed to inform 

their decision making.  

 

In countries where there is extensive cooperation between government and developmental 

partners to deliver water services, like Malawi, research indicates that the relationship 

between government and developmental partners can also contribute to the overall success of 

service delivery (Soublière & Cloutier, 2015). In this case, researchers noted that the formal 

authority, which is the government, often comes up against the resources of developmental 

partners. In Spain, the emergence of rapid urban regeneration had given rise to an increase in 

public-private partnerships (Carpintero & Petersen, 2016). The question of public 

participation is also worth expanding on. Public sector reforms have been largely focussed on 

public participation over the past sixty years (Osborne et al., 2022). In Slovakia for instance, 



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research indicates that in instances where social innovation is achieved, it has largely been a 

result of third party organisations or citizen involvement (Merickova et al., 2016). This 

provides context to the focus of this research, because the KCC was in essence a third party 

organisation consisting of citizens. The social innovation in the instance under review in this 

research, was the way in which the KCC were ultimately able to legally take over the 

municipal water delivery services.  

 

It is not only countries in the developing world, or Global South that have experienced 

challenges with water provision. The town of Flint in Michigan in the United States of 

America did not apply the correct corrosion control when switching to the Flint River as a 

drinking water source in 2014. This  led to a dangerous rise in the levels of lead when 

samples were taken after ten months (Pieper et al., 2017). Officials of the city of Flint had 

taken a decision in 2013 to join the Karegnondi Water Authority as a step to potentially save 

costs and this created situation where the city had to decide whether to treat water from the 

Flint River, or to purchase treated water from the Detroit Water and Sewage Department 

(Masten et al., 2016). The decision proved disastrous for the residents of Flint. This case-

study serves to illustrate that missteps in the governance and procurement of water resources 

can have far reaching consequences for communities.  

 

Studies also show that the provision of water by the public sector might not necessarily be 

more efficient than if it was done by the private sector (Rodrigues & Tavares, 2017). This can 

partly be attributed to a lack of economic competition, but also to the specificity of assets 

needed to provide water, which might have no other applications. Having said that, the 

privatisation of water services as had been the case in certain countries, does not guarantee 

greater efficiency, because there is oftentimes the emergence of a monopoly leaving residents 

and water users with little to no option to exit (Ohemeng & Grant, 2018). A comparative 

revision of the costs and benefits or private versus public provision of water is however 

beyond the remit of this research.  

 

The governance of water service delivery is central to the theoretical framework of the 

research. In Finland, where local government authorities have the biggest say in how utilities 

are managed, research indicates that political decision making plays a big role in the overall 

performance of waterworks (Elina Herrala & Jouni Olavi Haapasalo, 2012).  Effective 

governance should be informed by community engagement. A review conducted in the 



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Nigerian city, Abuja, found that in the event where communities are not consulted when it 

comes to the water sector, there was a noted decline in the quality of water (Abubaker, 2016). 

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) suggests that good 

water governance policy should furthermore be informed by data (2021). Central to water 

governance is the fact that water is an economic resource and infrastructure is needed to 

mobilise water as economic resource (Meissner, 2014).  

 

The focus of this research is explicitly the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality (KLM). The 

municipality was placed under administration in 2018 (Mercury, 2018) and irate residents set 

fire to the mayor’s house in that same year (Pretoria News, 2018). This is a municipality 

where water service delivery has been lacking for quite some time. Mamokhere et al. (2022) 

argues that the adoption of the Batho Pele principle as the guiding light for service delivery 

by the South African government in 1997 should form part of the core of each individual 

entrusted to deliver public service, but it is abundantly clear that this is not always the case. It 

would be beneficial to review incidents of how respective municipalities dealt with incidents 

of a similar nature to that of the KLM, but the court order granting the KCC control of the 

water services of the KLM is unique. This is to say that for the purposes of this research, the 

KCC cannot simply be viewed as an example of community involvement.  

 

According to a report released by the Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality (KLM) in 2017, 

three settlements consisting of 2130 households had for an unspecified time no water 

services.  (Kgetlengrivier Local Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2017, 2017). The 

municipality also identified a lack of a strategy to manage water conservation; there was also 

no budget to perform this function; and there were not enough personnel to perform this 

function. A study by Moyo (2016) illustrates that a lack of accountability in various 

municipalities in the North West province has had adverse effects on the ability of the 

municipalities to deliver services to its residents. A lack of technical skills and competency 

on the municipal level as well as a lack of performance management on municipal level has 

also been shown to contribute to poor service delivery (Khale & Worku, 2013). 

 

As mentioned, the KCC brought a successful court application to take over the water and 

waste-water works of the municipality. This process was rather acrimonious as the 

municipality contested the court order and the municipality accused the KCC of a hostile and 



 13 

illegal take-over of services by “by a handful of white residents” (Kgetlengrivier Local 

Municipality, 2021).   

 

The KCC took over a R144 million water treatment plant that had stood still for months, and 

restored water to most of the town’s residents within days (Morris, 2021). This raises various 

questions, as the KCC were not elected officials, they had never been in government and they 

had never been tasked with any form of public service delivery. The judgement granting the 

KCC the control of the sewerage plants of the municipality lapsed after a few months, so the 

research will be focussed and limited to that time. 

 

The key analytical lens of the research is, as mentioned earlier, the decision making process 

of the KCC during the months they had control of the KLM’s water services. With regard to 

decision making, it is argued that one of the first steps in decision making is to establish 

whether one is confronted with a problem, a threat or an opportunity.  It is also argued that 

decisions made by a group are superior to  those made by individual group 

members (Management Principles: A Contemporary Edition for Africa, 2016). There is 

arguably an interesting group dynamic at play when considering the KCC’s takeover of the 

KLM’s water services that will when analysed through the lens of decision making, 

hopefully  provide interesting insights. Water service delivery and water systems are complex 

in nature and as argued by Weaver et al. (2017), there are human limitations on 

comprehending complex systems which  makes it necessary to focus on certain details that 

inform decision making.  

 

A study of the failure of water service delivery in the Sekhukune municipality argues that a 

lack of agency by end-users greatly contributes to such failures  (Hofstetter et al., 2020). In 

the case of the KCC’s takeover of the KLM’s water services, this grouping constituted for a 

time both end-users and service providers. This is perhaps the clearest example of end-users 

being given an unprecedented amount of agency and the proposed research will delve deeper 

into the decision-making process of how this agency was utilised.  

 

Landsberg and Graham (2017) argue that the municipal level of government is better suited 

to responding to the needs of citizens. Even though a municipality is an extension of the state, 

municipal officials should have a better understanding of the needs of residents because they 

have been given a mandate by these residents. Municipalities also have independent 



 14 

budgeting and planning cycles and there is a clearly defined process that ultimately informs 

what gets prioritised (Landsberg & Graham, 2017).  This process can sometimes be an 

arduous one  which may hamper service delivery, because if there is, for example, an urgent 

need to fix infrastructure, a protracted budgeting process can, in some instances, create a 

situation where the response to an  urgent need is delayed. This plays out on two levels, the 

first being the “bureaucratic level” where decisions are made, and the other is the “ground 

level”, where these decisions directly affect the lives of citizens. Seeing as South Africa is a 

developmental with a strong focus on autonomy, this can create a disconnect between the 

state and its citizens (Karuri-Sebina et al., 2010). Simply put, the state and its organs are 

viewed as the sole provider of services. This can create an untenable arrangement between 

power and accountability (Karuri-Sebina et al., 2010). Furthermore, the distribution of power 

on municipal level does not always provide for adequate consulting between community 

members and decision makers, resulting in municipalities not responding to the needs of 

communities (Ngumbela, 2022). 

 

Research by Kanjere (2016) has illustrated that a lack of knowledge sharing between 

municipalities can also contribute to service delivery challenges. This highlights key 

questions of the proposed research, which include the  extent to which the KCC feels 

that  their decision-making process was aided by the fact that they were not subjected to the 

challenges mentioned above. Or did they feel that the lack of institutional knowledge posed a 

great challenge to their decision-making process?  

 

The cost of water infrastructure and service delivery must form part of any discussion 

relating to water service delivery. Schulze and Stuart-Hill (2017) state that it has become a 

problem for citizens, but it also poses great risks to the economy. Despite this, there seems to 

be little attempt by the government to determine how this is to be resolved. It is clear that the 

issue of finance, but more specifically financial management, as it relates to the KCC’s 

decision making will be an area of focus of this proposed qualitative study. This research 

does not attempt to provide details of how monies were spent by the KCC, but rather what 

the perceptions were of members of the KCC when it came to certain expenditures relating to 

water service delivery. It has been argued that the manner in which local government 

authorities manage finances determine the quality of service delivery (Jitsing, 2019). It would 

thus be necessary for the research to look at the financial management of the KCC during the 

time that they took over the stated services.  



 15 

 

There is  an extensive body of research relating to service delivery, municipal management, 

the challenges of building and maintaining water service delivery and the effects of a lack of 

water service delivery. This case study provides an opportunity to look  at these concepts 

from a different perspective, perhaps to better understand the challenges of service 

delivery. The study might  contribute to providing a clearer and more detailed picture  of 

what it takes to deliver services, which up to this point has solely been studied from a 

mandated governmental and municipal perspective. Meissner argues that interest groups play 

an important role in many political societies and in some instances interest groups can 

improve water policies. There is also the perception created by the who and the what 

delivering services. Olubunmi & Oluwaseyi (2019) argues that a change in government or 

administration sometimes unfairly politicises water service delivery and that efforts should be 

made to inform residents that the provision of water services should not be dependent on 

politics.  

 

The theoretical framework for this study is thus informed by key concepts that relate to 

governance. According to the World Bank, governance is in essence the manner in which 

rulers rule within a set of rules (Public Sector Development - What Is Governance?, n.d.). It 

has also been argued that governance is central to explaining both economic and social 

development, thus being viewed as the cause and effect thereof (OECD, 2016). In the context 

of public governance in South Africa, the “rulers” are the elected officials and the “rules” are 

the various laws within which they have to “rule” and fulfil their duties, and these “rules” rest 

upon the constitution. So the manner in which public officials  organise themselves and 

govern can be understood in these terms. The way in which private citizens organise 

themselves on the other hand, has been greatly debated. In her critique of Mancur Olson’s 

statement that self-interested individuals  will not act in aa way that will further the group’s 

common interests, Elinor Ostrom  (2014) notes that there are many examples where people 

do in fact further the interests of the group after voluntarily organizing themselves. The KCC 

is one such group and although they were not “rulers” in the traditional understanding of the 

term governance, they still coalesced around certain “rules” that the research endeavours to 

unpack.   

 

For the purpose of this research, governance can be narrowed down to water governance 

specifically. The governance of water has over the past decade largely focussed on scarcity of 



 16 

water as a resource and participation in managing this scarcity (Woodhouse & Muller, 2017). 

Nelson et al. (2019) argue that the study of water governance should consider how and for 

whom water is made available and managed. The traditional role of governments in this 

regard has, however, undergone certain changes, as argued by Akhmouch & Clavreul (2016), 

leading to a multi-level system where many actors and service providers contribute to the 

governance of water.  The governance of water, as well as various critiques thereof, is 

oftentimes heavily influenced by value judgements (Schulz et al., 2017). This does not 

necessarily mean that governance as theoretical framework will solely be informed by value 

judgements, but it is important to take note of this. Governance can be both a theoretical 

framework and an analytic tool with which to better understand decision making processes. 

There have always been differing opinions regarding the best governance and ownership 

structures of institutions tasked with the delivery of services and the debate has been 

informed by issues such as the political and institutional development at different times 

(Herrala & Haapsalo, 2012). This research does not intend to contribute to that particular 

debate, but it is worth mentioning. It is also important to look at the connection between 

decision making and governance, because broadly speaking decisions made in the public 

sector should be informed by the constitution, local legislation and policy decisions amongst 

other factors. In the case of the KCC, although certainly not above the constitution or local 

legislation, this research will ask key questions like whether the KCC had a pre-defined 

mandate. In the public sector, setting clear directives, with clear levels of authority provides a 

foundation for effectiveness provided employees are aware of their mandate (Agenbag et al., 

2022).  

 

The theoretical framework of this research is also informed by decision making. Personal 

biases can affect complex decision making in a variety of ways, ranging from recency and 

primacy biases (Lange et al., 2021). Talluri et al. (2018) found that the mere act of deciding 

on a specific course of action greatly influences the subsequent judgement and decision 

making. This research will explore how the decision making by the members of the KCC was 

influenced by them simply deciding to attempt to take over the water service delivery of the 

municipality.  

 

 

 

 



 17 

3. Methodology and field work 

 

As the research is informed by past events, the epistemological approach is that of an 

interpretivist approach. This approach was best suited because the research seeks to explore 

the meaning and value certain people ascribed to various factors which would have according 

to them been important considerations when making decisions. During the interviews 

conducted, the answers were interpreted and assigned to theoretic links. As stated by Avenier 

& Thomas (2015) interpretivism has its ontological grounding in constructed realities which 

are not necessarily informed by natural laws and when meanings are agreed upon in a social 

context, this constitutes the objective and intersubjective reality. There are those that hold the 

view that interpretivism replaces concepts like objectivity and rationality with concepts such 

as ‘meanings’ and ‘motivations’ (Laurie & Sullivan, 1991). This approach does however 

allow for a full understanding of how human beings, as actors with agency, arrive at certain 

points. The primary data source of the research are extensive, in-depth interviews conducted 

with the four executive members of the KCC over a period of four months in 2022. Given the 

central themes that informs the research, a case study design is justified because it is a study 

of a particular phenomenon, which as stated by Hancock and Algozzine (2017) in reference 

to case study research design, took place at a specific space and time. As it relates to data 

collection, observations was not be possible as this is a retrospective study. Emphasis is 

placed on key informant interviews, document analysis of communication between members 

of the KCC and the communication of their decisions to the broader community. As this 

study is qualitative in nature, this is important because the way in which decisions were 

communicated, or not communicated also provides insights into the decision-making 

process.  

The interviews were semi-structured in nature, as this allowed for follow-up questions. This 

was the primary research method. Telephonic interviews were conducted based on participant 

preference and the interviews lasted approximately 60 to 90 minutes. Interviews were audio-

recorded with the consent of the participants and notes were also taken to capture non-verbal 

observations. The audio recordings were transcribed verbatim, to ensure accuracy and data 

completeness. Questions were sequenced to allow for a rich discussion and conversation. 

Given that the research is interpretivist in nature, the researcher’s own situatedness was stated 

and this allowed for the interviews to be hermeneutic. This tool set the scene for the 

researcher to ask questions that were challenging and perhaps difficult, because the interview 



 18 

can go from questions and answers format to a dialogue (Flick, 2018). The quality of the 

research is improved by a Hermeneutical approach (Yeo, 2017), one where challenging and 

probing questions were asked, placing a measure of pressure on the interviewees to explain 

and justify how and why decisions were made. Objective Hermeneutics is utilized to 

distinguish between structures of meaning and to reconstruct the decision patterns of 

individuals (Wagner, 2010). Objective Hermeneutics places an emphasis on context and 

although the historical focus has been on text, it is argued that by utilising this approach when 

reading and re-reading transcripts of interviews, the researchers is able to better establish 

what the thoughts, desires and aspirations of the interviewees were (Borim-de-Souza et al., 

2020). It is also useful in making the most of a relatively small number of interviews with 

people in charge of formulating and or implementing policy (Mann et al., 2009). This aligns 

with the research question of seeking to find out what informed the decision making process 

of the KCC.  

 

The study is, as mentioned, quite specific in nature and as such a probability sampling 

strategy was employed. This was done in order to ensure information-rich cases which 

provides illumination to the questions asked in this research (Khalil et al., 2017). The 

possible sample size of the KCC executive only consists of four members, therefore it is 

argued that by interviewing every member of the executive it provides the most 

comprehensive perspective as it relates to the research objective. This also means that the 

sampling strategy was purposive, because respondents were chosen according to a set of 

criteria that needed to be adhered to in order to meet the objectives of the study (Andrade, 

2020).  This sampling strategy allowed the research to focus on specific aspects withing the 

population of the KCC executive (Bullard, 2020) as it relates to the decision making process. 

 

The KCC has no formal leadership structure, so although the four executive members 

interviewed for this research were the only members bestowed with decision making powers, 

they were not formally selected or elected. There members were member A, one of the 

founding members of the KCC, member B, the legal representative of the KCC, member C, 

the technical advisor of the KCC and member D, the member representing Swartruggens. 

(Members A and B represented Koster and Derby. The initial name of the KCC was KDS, 

which stands for Koster, Swartruggens and Derby). These members all reside in the 

Kgetlengrivier municipality, and given logistical constraints it was not possible to conduct 

the interviews in person. The interviews were conducted during extensive phone and Zoom-



 19 

calls. The interviews were semi-structured, but they were very much focussed. It was made 

clear that the focus of the research is the decision making process that the group followed, but 

the semi-structured approach taken to interviewing the members, allowed for a measure of 

spontaneity that illuminated various supporting themes, such as how the different members 

ultimately defined key concepts. The research approach is also structured in a narrative way, 

where context is created by selective coding, ultimately resulting in a “story” or “story line”. 

(Ruppel, 2015). The patterns identified can be categorized as follows: what, who, how, where 

and why.  For source material, journal articles, books and newspaper articles were 

utilised. With regard to validity and reliability, it has been argued that qualitative research 

can fall short of meeting validity and reliability threshold (Healy & Perry, 2000). This can be 

countered by employing a strategy of reflexivity. The researcher reflected on their own 

beliefs, values, knowledge and biases in order to ensure the trustworthiness of the research 

(Berger, 2015). The researcher’s subjectivity and is acknowledged and addressed. Despite 

planning, the research did encounter various challenges. Due to participant preference and 

logistical challenges, it was not possible to conduct the interviews in person. Data derived 

from interviews are subjective and can be influenced by factors such as the participants 

feeling they need to say what the researcher wants to hear. Care was taken in ensuring that 

leading questions were not asked, but social desirability bias should be acknowledged. 

Generalization of the findings is also limited, as they may not be applicable to other contexts.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Analysis of findings 



 20 

 

This chapter presents a comprehensive analysis of the findings obtained from the study of the 

the role of the KCC in the administration of water services. By carefully examining the data 

gathered from interviews, the aim is to find the patterns and implications surrounding the role 

of the KCC in the administration of water services as it relates to decision making, 

governance and management of water services.  

 

Transcription is a very important method of analysing qualitative data and given cultural 

biases, the interpretation of the readings of the transcripts can vary (Parameswaran, 2020). 

The primary focus of the research are the different experiences of individuals and as such a 

case study of each member interviewed is appropriate (Reviews & Cram101 Incorporated, 

2013). Prior to the description and analysis of the results of the main case study, it is 

necessary to provide a breakdown of the members of the KCC. Member A is a 67 year old 

white Afrikaans speaking male, residing in Koster in the North West. He runs a small 

business in town and has been involved in politics during his lifetime, having served as a 

councillor in ward 21, Witpoortjie in Roodepoort in Gauteng for the erstwhile 

Konserwatiewe Party (Conservative Party). He has lived in Koster since 2016. Prior to that 

he farmed cattle between Koster and Swartruggens. He is the director of the KCC and has 

described the organisation as an informal grouping. Prior to the court order under review for 

this research, he has been involved in litigation with the Kgetlengrivier municipality 

regarding mostly the provision of water. In 2016 he and the KCC was granted an order that 

forced the municipality to provide water to residents. In 2018 magistrate Herman van Wyk 

granted an order allowing the local ratepayer’s association to take control of the 

Kgetlengrivier municipality’s water and refuse system (Potter, 2021). In January of 2019 

municipal workers embarked on a strike, resulting in water being cut off from residents for 

several days. He again approached the court on behalf of the KCC, this time he was granted 

an order allowing the KCC to run the water works for a month. In December of 2020 

however the situation had become extremely dire, according to him, with water being cut off 

for days on end. He decided to explore the possibility of approaching the court for an order 

allowing the KCC to run the water works of the municipality for an indefinite amount of 

time. Member B is a 33 year old white Afrikaans speaking male and resident of Koster. He is 

a lawyer and the official legal representative of the KCC. He has a legal practice in town. 

Member C is a 54 year old white Afrikaans speaking male and resident of Koster. He has 

lived in Koster his whole life. He does not have an official tertiary qualification, but he runs a 



 21 

large machine building business in town with his wife. He was not a member of KCC prior to 

the court order under review in this research. He made himself available to provide technical 

advice and support following the granting of the court order and because the order was 

granted to the KCC he was legally obliged to become a member of the KCC. Member D is a 

59 year old white Afrikaans speaking male and resident of Swartruggens, a town that falls 

under the Kgetlengrivier-municipality. He had various farming operations in and around 

Swartruggens and is very dependent on the Swartruggens dam and Eland river for irrigation. 

He is not a director of KCC, but has been a member since its inception. Having provided a 

case study of each member, it should be noted that the above is not an attempt to explain the 

KCC as an organization, but to place research in context. The four executive members of the 

KCC share a frustration with a lack of service delivery, especially water service delivery in 

their towns. 

 

The fox terrier and the car: the initial agreement between members of the KCC 

Prior to the court order being granted, the KCC did not have a clear plan on how decision 

making would be approached. It was important for member A and member B to approach the 

court for an order that would allow the KCC to take over the water and sewerage system of 

the municipality. They both reiterated the importance of ensuring that the process is protected 

by law, so that residents of the municipality would not accuse them of usurping powers that 

do not belong to them. According to member A and member B, they had the necessary 

structures in place to administer the water and sewerage systems in the event of their 

application being granted. Member C contradicted this, stating that for the KCC the court 

order was like the proverbial dog chasing a car and that the moment the dog caught the car, it 

did not know what to do with it. “It was like a fox terrier chasing a car but then not knowing 

what to do with the car once it caught the car,” explained member C.. This is how member C 

described the first few days following the order being granted. According to member C, 

member A and B had procured the technical services of two men from out of town who made 

it clear that they would assist in technical services, but only within office hours. Member C, 

given his background in designing and manufacturing machines, offered his services and it 

was at this juncture that he officially joined the KCC as only members of the KCC were 

legally allowed to take part in the administration of the water services. One of the first things 

the KCC did was to create a WhatsApp-group where members could communicate with each 

other. Member B stated that each members had a clear understanding of what was expected 



 22 

of them. At this stage all of the executive members viewed the court order as an opportunity 

and not a threat or a problem. This later changed however. 

 

 

Money, money, money: How did the KCC’s finances influence decision making? 

A sensitive topic of discussion among the executive members of the KCC, was money. The 

KCC did not have the capital means for big expenditures and as established by member C, 

many of the pumps and related infrastructure needed to be replaced or repaired. Member C 

offered to provide a substantial amount of money to fix the broken and damaged pumps and 

to hire generators to power the pumps. Member C agreed to provide R2,5 million upfront. It 

should be noted that the full amount spent by the KCC came to R7,5 million and the court 

later ordered the provincial government to reimburse the KCC for these expenses (Municipal 

IQ: Municipal Data and Intelligence, n.d). This amount is disputed, because according to 

member A, a total of R18 million was spent.  According to member C, his initial provision of 

R2,5 million made it possible for work on the water treatment plants to begin. During 

interviews with member C, he expressed that money is a shitty thing (’n kak ding), he knows 

what it is to have money and what it is to not have money and so it would have made no 

difference to him if he was ultimately not reimbursed for the R2,5 million he put down. 

Member B however was not forthcoming in providing details of where exactly the KCC 

funding came from, stating that some of it was donations and some of it was borrowed. 

Member B says that the KCC made sure that every expense was accounted for and the KCC 

went to great lengths to ensure that money was not wasted, because at the time the KCC was 

not sure how long it would take for the municipality to reimburse them. There was an overall 

appreciation between the executive members of the KCC of the importance of sound 

financial management. Due the fragmented nature of the KCC’s funding following the court 

order being granted, it became clear during the interview process that this had a direct 

bearing on the KCC’s decision making process. Member C expressed the view that he wanted 

to make sure his R2,5 million was not wasted and as such he made the decisions on how that 

money was spent. “I did not want them to pee away the money,” he said. Member C was thus 

reluctant to take orders from anyone in the KCC. Member A and B put it more 

diplomatically, stating that there was an understanding among the executive members of the 

KCC that they would not meddle in each other’s’ work. In the early days of the KCC 

administering the water services of the municipality, there was a sense amongst the executive 

members of the KCC that they were doing important work. A derelict treatment plant that 



 23 

was built for R144 million was rendered operational and within days the municipality was 

provided with clean water and clean sewage effluent was released.  Financial resource 

management is a crucial aspect underlying other aspects within an organization ensuring the 

stability of what an organization sets out to do (Tretyak et al., 2021).  

 

The culture of the KCC 

When asked to describe the governance culture of the KCC, member C stated that it was like 

a jelly fish. “There was no official management, we met once or twice, that was it.” Member 

B described it as being independent in the sense that each member focussed on their 

respective tasks and therefore it was not necessary to have a chain of command. Hald et al. 

(2021) argues that the culture of an organization is oftentimes a contributing factor to 

institutional failure. The sentiment expressed by two of the executive members of the KCC in 

relation the culture of the organization, was pointedly negative. As mentioned above, member 

B described the culture in terms of the assignment of tasks to each member and member B 

described the organizational culture as a “fairy-tale”, where everything went smoothly. 

According to Geiger et al. (2009), narratives regarding organizational culture can create blind 

spots. It is clear that the members of the KCC had very strong narratives, albeit differing 

narratives regarding the organizational culture and this invariably created blind spots for the 

organization. There was also a clear difference of opinion regarding who the power holders 

were during the time that the KCC administered the water services. As stated by Pang et al., 

(2021;2022), power holders within an organisation greatly contributes to the enhancement of 

communal interests and building an atmosphere that is harmonious. It stands to reason that if 

there are no clear power holders, then the chances of the organisation’s atmosphere being 

harmonious, is slim.  

 

According to Davis & Cates (2018), members of an organisation are often not aware of what 

defines the culture of the organisation until it is challenged. According to member A, the 

biggest challenge that faced the KCC was the effort it took to provide water to the 

municipality within the timeframe stipulated by the court order. Member C stated that he and 

his team worked around the clock, sometimes driving out to pumpstations after midnight to 

manually start the pumps and related machinery. Member C and his team worked on their 

own and they did not ask for guidance and permission to do the work they deemed necessary. 

At this point, the members of the KCC were not meeting regularly, each member was busy 

doing their own thing. Visual elements like photographs are often used in qualitative research 



 24 

and can form part of the process off meaning making (Ebrahimpour & Esmaeili, 2018). The 

following photographs were provided by member C as a means to, as he put it, illustrate the 

work him and his team had done when the KCC had initially taken over the water services of 

the municipality. Cleland & Macleod (2021) argue that photographs illuminate what was 

happening at a particular time and in this way photography can convey meaning across time.  

 

 

Picture 1: Damaged wall of water treatment plant in Koster before the KCC take over 

services. 

 



 25 

Picture 2: Repairs being done by member C of the KCC and his team to the water treatment 

plant in Koster. 

 



 26 

Picture 3: Repairs being done by member C of the KCC and his team to the water treatment 

plant in Koster. 

 



 27 

Picture 4: Repairs being done by member C of the KCC and his team to the water treatment 

plant in Koster. 

 

 

Picture 5: Progress of repairs being done by member C of the KCC and his team to the water 

treatment plant in Koster. 

 



 28 

 

Picture 6: Member C and his team. 

 

 

Picture 7: Member C and his team. 

 



 29 

 

Picture 8: Following repairs done by the KCC, the water treatment plant was fully functional. 



 30 

 

Picture 9: Water flowing to the water treatment plant in Koster. 

 

 

 



 31 

A Partnership is a sinking ship: the breakdown in co-operation 

According to members A and B, the KCC had never intended to administer the water services 

on a permanent basis. Member D, who was the KCC representative for Swartruggens, stated 

during interviews that he viewed the court order as an opportunity for the citizens of the 

municipality to take over the water works for good, stating that he had experienced too many 

service delivery failures during his lifetime. Member B stated that the aim of the court 

application was accountability, but for members C and D the aim was to keep the services in 

the hands of the citizens. Member D also expressed concern in how member A represented 

the group in the media following widespread media attention. As director of the KCC, it was 

decided among the executive members that member A would do most of the media 

interviews. According to member D, this became a problem. “For him (member A) it was 

suddenly about me, me me,” said member D. . The KCC was also approached by the civil 

rights organisation Afriforum to discuss the possibility of assistance. According to member 

C, member A and member B had approached Afrifoum and this greatly upset member C and 

D. A subsidiary of Afriforum, Pionier (a for profit organisation established to assist 

communities that seek to become more self-governing), had become involved in managing 

aspects of the KCC. Member C indicated that he felt this was a mistake. Member D then cut 

ties with the KCC.  

 

There was no dispute resolution mechanism within the KCC and the only official channel of 

communication between members was the group’s WhatsApp-group. The involvement of 

Pionier had soon becomea source of frustration for member C and member D. Member C 

stated that Pionier provided some financial assistance, and in turn they had sent multi-media 

teams to Koster to film the work the KCC had been doing in order to promote their own 

involvement and according to member C, this was never discussed among the member of the 

KCC. For member C and D, this had also created the impression that the KCC was only 

interested in providing services for the white Afrikaans speaking community of Koster, 

Swartruggens and Derby. “In the rural areas (platteland) where we live, we all need each 

other and some people want to put us into camps,” said member C. Member C expanded on 

this, saying that he was uncomfortable with the way member A was representing the group in 

the media. “He kept saying we were giving the government a bloody nose. You don’t need to 

say that.” Member C stated that he had become uncomfortable with an impression being 

created by thee KCC’s involvement of Pionier that it was the white community in town that 

was “fixing everything”. At this point, member D had ceased his involvement with the KCC. 



 32 

“I told them, if they want to use Pionier then I will withdraw completely,” said member D. 

An email later sent by the management of Pionier to the members of the KCC indicated that 

Pionier was not willing to take on the financial risk involved in supporting the KCC in 

administering the water works of the municipality. The North West High court then granted 

and order directing the Kgetlengrivier local municipality to appoint an implementing agency 

to administer the water works. This was preceded by talks between the KCC, the department 

of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and the Kgetlengrivier local municipality 

The MEC for Cooperative Governance Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Mmoliki 

Cwaile, was quoted in the media as as saying she welcomed the decision (South Africa: MEC 

Mmoloki Cwaile Welcomes Court Ruling on Kgetlengriver, 2021). Member D described the 

agreement between government and the KCC as a betrayal that served as the nail in the coffin 

of the KCC’s efforts to improve the provision of water for the residents of the municipality. 

Member A and member B argued that the KCC never wanted to take over the water services 

of the municipality on a permanent basis only to intervene, but member C and member D 

indicated that they were willing to continue their work for an indefinite amount of time. On 

the 17th of March 2021, the appointed agent Magalies Water, took over the water services 

from the KCC (Kretzmann, 2022).  At this juncture, member C and member D left the KCC. 

Member D expressed his disappointment by saying that the initial partnership between the 

four executive members of the KCC, had become a sinking ship. In the local government 

elections of 2021, member C and member D made themselves available as independent 

candidates for their respective wards. Both of them stated that they had not thought about 

getting politically involved during their time with the KCC, but they did concede that it 

provided them with a certain platform on which they ran their campaigns. The four executive 

members of the KCC stated that their private involvement in water service delivery was 

however not a political act or choice. As it relates to communication between members of the 

KCC and the broader Kgetlengrivier local municipality, member C and member D stated that 

it was very important to them that decisions be timeously communicated to the community. It 

was also important for member D that the community support the actions and decisions of the 

KCC.  Member B stated that decisions were communicated via the organisation’s Facebook 

group. Member C stated that he regularly visited the informal settlement of Reagile, just 

outside Koster, to communicate to residents what the KCC was doing and why they were 

doing it. According to member D, there was also an understanding from community members 

of the challenges experienced by the KCC during the time that they were in charge of the 

water services, precisely because these challenges were communicated.  



 33 

5. Discussion 

The purpose of the research was to explore the decision making process of the KCC during 

the time of their take-over and administration of the water service of the Kgetlengrivier local 

municipality. The actions of the executive members during this time, had a massive impact 

on the lives of the citizens of the municipality. The KCC, is a non-political, non-

governmental organisation, that took over an aspect of service delivery that is administered 

by governmental structures. The various water authorities in South Africa, are 

constitutionally mandated to provide water to the citizens of the country. Despite this, many 

municipalities in the country are struggling to properly deliver water services to residents, 

leaving residents angry and frustrated. The KCC is an example of a group of residents who 

challenged the lack of water services in their municipality in the courts. The KCC were given 

a court order that had far reaching consequences for the Kgetlengrivier local municipality.  

The research focussed on the four executive members of the KCC, who were ultimately 

entrusted to ensure adherence to the court order. The research looked at the question of what 

informed the decision making process of the executive members of the KCC during the time 

they administered the water services of the Kgetlengrivier local municipality.  

This research is important because other communities and non-profit, non-governmental 

organisations might attempt something similar to what the KCC attempted. Given the state of 

service delivery in some of South Africa’s municipalities, it is likely that similar attempts 

might be made to take over certain services. This research is by no means an exhaustive study 

on the impact of the KCC on the administration of water services, but it does highlight key 

elements that can contribute to the field of knowledge relating to water services and 

administration. The key findings of the research illustrates that planning and overall 

agreement of objectives are essential when attempting a project such as the take-over of 

water services by a non-governmental organisation. Furthermore, the analysis illustrates that 

an understanding of the technical requirements of delivering water services is foundational to 

proper service delivery, regardless of who is administering the services. The KCC had access 

to the necessary technical expertise through one of their members. The findings also indicate 

that the decision making process of the executive members of the KCC was informed by past 

experiences of poort service delivery in the municipality. This speaks to the personalisation 

of their approach; they did not view themselves as separate entities providing services, they 

viewed themselves as concerned community members that felt they needed to do something 



 34 

about the state oof water service delivery in their towns. Perhaps the most important element 

of the KCC’s impact on the administration of water services, is an understanding of the 

financial management that forms part of service delivery. This was one of the biggest source 

of disagreement between members of the KCC. Moreover, a lack of consensus regarding the 

leadership structure of the KCC also arguably contributed to the challenges experienced. The 

executive members of the KCC had assumed that it would be better for every member to 

focus on their assigned tasks, but the absence of a chain of command created silos, with 

members not knowing or understanding what the others was doing. The issue of oversight is 

also addressed in the research. Given the fact that most of the initial capital was provided by 

the members, it clearly created a situation where that member, rightly or wrongly, had the 

final say over certain lines of expenditure. Viewed from a different perspective, this could 

also have contributed to feeling that the brunt of the financial risk was carried by one 

individual on the executive team of the KCC, putting undue pressure on a single individual 

within the organisation. A recurring argument in the research relating to water service 

delivery is that the end users of water services need to be more involved in ensuring the 

success of water service delivery. The manner in which the KCC, an organisation ultimately 

comprising of end users, is but one way for end users to be involved. The introduction later of 

a different grouping or organisation, in the form of Pionier, was also a bone of contention for 

two of the members of the KCC, suggesting that there should be consensus regarding the 

possible utilisation of outside actors. It should be noted that the court order granted to the 

KCC and the widespread media attention that fell on the municipality as a result, could have 

created a situation where outside organisations wanted to hitch their proverbial wagons to the 

KCC.  

The conclusion that can be drawn from the research is that the members of the KCC did not 

have a unified foundation on which decision making was based. Although there certainly was 

a unity of purpose, there was not unity in how this purpose should be executed. A feeling of 

hopelessness regarding poor service delivery is not a strong enough unifier for a group or 

organisation that wants to try and make a difference to the lives of their fellow residents. 

Ratepayer associations that might find common ground with each other and also other 

organisations representing communities, might have an effect on the political landscape of 

South Africa. Outsourcing of municipal services might seem like a warranted and oftentimes 

justifiable route, but it is not without dangers and challenges. One being oversight. As 

mentioned, the financial situation of the KCC was one with little to no oversight and this 



 35 

should serve as a cautionary warning to other groupings that wish to follow the same route. 

The efficient use of capital and financial resources as a whole is an important factor in the 

successful delivery of services. The case of the KCC has served as an example for other 

organisations, like the Mafube Business Forum that approached the courts for an order 

allowing them to run the Mafube Local Municipality (Khumalo, 2022). It is interesting to 

note that the executive members of the KCC were all of the opinion that they as private 

citizens would do a much better job at administering the water services of the municipality, 

but due to the reasons examined above, they ultimately had to relinquish the water services to 

a state-run managing agent. The findings indicate that a purely private or community driven 

approach to the administering of water services is not a panacea and great care should be 

taken by any organisation attempting something similar. Finally, the KCC’s takeover of the 

water services perhaps fostered a recognition at the community level of what exactly the 

responsibilities of a municipality is in terms of a standard of water service delivery.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 36 

6. Conclusion 

In this research report, the intricacies, challenges and pitfalls of water administration were 

delved into. Water is essential for life, but it is also a vital resource for socio-economic 

development. To ensure that water is effectively administered, good governance and 

management strategies are required. Throughout this research, key themes emerged that shed 

light on the many aspects that inform water management. These include a difference of 

perspective in what the best approach to water management should be. Although the case 

under review in this research could be described as an innovative approach, the findings of 

this research suggests that innovation does not necessarily lead to improvement. An 

integrated water management framework is essential, because ultimately good governance, 

be it private or public, relies on a holistic approach to decision making. In the case of the 

KCC, a lack of integration as admitted by the members of the executive, was a major 

stumbling block. Challenges emerge when planning, allocation and decision making are not 

integrated. 

The research also indicated the importance of stakeholder engagement. Diversity of interests 

from various stakeholders, such as the local community, the municipality and the KCC, 

should be recognised. In the event of various groupings operating in isolation, an opportunity 

for sustainable collaboration is lost. Without consensus, service delivery challenges cannot be 

adequately addressed.  

This research aimed to contribute to the discourse of water management, by offering analysis 

and insights.  In the South African context, community intervention on various levels have 

become more and more frequent. The study of the role of the KCC in the administration of 

water services is but one aspect of community intervention. Key questions regarding the 

impact of this kind of intervention remains. Community intervention in water management 

should be further studied, to ensure that accountable water management systems are 

developed and employed.   

Lastly, consideration was given to ethical concerns about ensuring the anonymity of the 

executive members of the KCC. As communicated by the executive members during the 

research process, the executive members of the KCC were aware of these concerns, but 

expressed that they did not have a problem with being identified as they had also engaged in 



 37 

various media interviews before, during and after the KCC’s takeover of the water services of 

the Kgetlengrivier municipality. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 38 

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2019 - 20 MFMA Media Release 30 June 2021. (2021, June 30). Www.Agsa.Co.Za. 

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%2020%20MFMA%20Media%20Release%2030%20June%202021.pdf 

 

Abubakar, I. R. (2016). Quality dimensions of public water services in Abuja, Nigeria. 

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Africa, S. S. (2022, June 23). General Household Survey, 2021 | Statistics South Africa. 

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7. Appendices 

 

Organisational structure of the KCC: 

Entire structure consists of 220 members. 

Executive: 4 members 

 

QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR MEMBERS OF EXECUTIVE) 

 

 

 

 

1. What led to the decision by the KCC executive bringing the court challenge to take 

over the water services of the municipality? 

2. Why did the KCC feel this was necessary? 

3. What was the extent of consultation with members of the KCC before the court 

challenge was initiated? 

4. Was there a plan for what would be done in the event of the court finding in the 

KCC’s favor, or was the plan only formulated after the court’s judgement? 

5. Why did the KCC feel it was important to bring this specific application before the 

court? 

6. How did the KCC feel about the wording of the judgement? 

7. What was the first thing the KCC did after being given control of the water services? 

8. Was there agreement between members of the KCC for what needed to be done? 

9. What were the biggest challenges in taking over the water services? 

10. How did the KCC go about in delegating responsibilities? 

11. Was there a central, fundamental guiding principle decided upon when the services 

were taken over, which would inform decision making? 

12. What resources did the KCC have at its disposal (did the KCC have financial 

resources to render the services instructed to it by the court?) 

13. Did the KCC have a chain of command regarding decisions on how resources would 

be spent/allocated? 

14. Was there kind of oversight structure in place regarding the spending of resources? 



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15. What was the plan for dealing with disagreements between members of the KCC? 

16. Were there many disagreements between members of the KCC? 

17. How would you describe the governance structure of the KCC? 

18. How would you describe the decision-making process of the KCC? 

19. Would you say that this process was effective during the time of the KCC’s takeover 

of the water services? 

20.  What were the biggest impediments to the work of the KCC during the time of the 

KCC’s takeover of the water services? 

21. Did the KCC have a stated goal or outcome that it wished to attain at the outset? 

22. How would you describe the KCC’s culture? 

23. How did this inform the KCC’s decision making process in the take-over of the water 

services? 

24. Was there a separation of powers within the KCC executive? 

25. Did the KCC consult with members of the wider community? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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CONSENT FORM 

Name of researcher: Lourensa Eckard 

 

I, ………………………………………..,  agree to participate in this research project.  

 

I agree to the following: 

 

(Please circle the relevant options below)  

 

The research study was explained to me. I understand what this study is about.  

 

       YES NO 

I understand that I can volunteer to take part in the study 

 

       YES NO 

I agree that the interview/focus group/other activity may be audio recorded . 

 

        YES  NO 

I agree that direct quotations from my interview may be used by the researcher in their 

research report.   

       YES NO 

I agree that my participation will remain anonymous (my name will not be used by the 

researcher in their research report. 

       YES NO 



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I agree that other researchers may use the information I provide in my interview (depending 

on their own ethics clearance being obtained) but my name and any personal information will 

not be used or passed on 

       YES NO 

 

…………………………………… (signature) 

…………………………………… (name of participant ) 

…………………………………… (date) 

 

…………………………………… (signature) 

…………………………………… (name of researcher/person seeking consent) 

…………………………………… (date 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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