The role of communities in innovative water management: Sustainability governance in the emerging country

Abstract

South Africa’s municipalities have been called upon to provide potable clean water and to empower local communities to participate in water supply management in view of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. However, despite such efforts, access to piped water is dwindling and disparities in the distribution of water are growing (Mkize, 2021). This paper aimed to explore the existing policy and institutional frameworks that enhance or inhibit communities’ roles as water services intermediaries in the Eastern Cape and Free State provinces of South Africa. This article adopted the qualitative research methodology in presenting the findings and the analysis of data from communities and government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) officials’ narratives on the factors that enhance or inhibit communities’ participation in water management. The findings highlight that, despite South Africa’s elaborate legal frameworks for water governance, South Africa has not managed to achieve water equity or to engage meaningfully with beneficiary communities as part of water management. Water inequalities are still predominantly characteristic of formerly excluded areas in the villages, townships, and informal settlements, and have grown in tandem with overall social and economic inequalities that are making South Africa the most unequal country in the world.