CHAPTER 4: THE CASE STUDY CONTEXT
4.2 Durban: A city of the global south
As an African city, Durban shares many of the characteristics of urban areas in the Global South and faces a range of social, economic, environmental and governance challenges, with much of the population living in conditions of poverty and underdevelopment (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a).
These challenges are exacerbated by a legacy of formalized racial division that has created widespread environmental injustice, inequity and exclusion (Roberts and O’Donoghue, 2013). The rise of democracy in South Africa in 1994 was accompanied by expectations that the socio-economic imbalances of apartheid would be addressed and that past divisions would be replaced with equitable development and access to basic services such as water, electricity, and sanitation (Carmin et al., 2012). As a result, eThekwini Municipality has invested significantly in socio-economic development and basic service provision. However, Durban still faces significant challenges relating to high levels of inequality, poverty and unemployment, as well as unequal (and in many cases, inadequate) access to housing, water, sanitation and electricity.
EThekwini Municipality saw a marginal reduction (of 0.49%) in the number of people living below the food poverty line, to 36% of the population in 2015, but eThekwini Municipality still has the highest levels of poverty of the five major metropolitan areas in South Africa (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a), as well as a decrease in the rate of broad unemployment (meaning that the unemployed, non-job searching unemployed are included in the statistics) from 45.7% to 38.9% between the 2001 and 2011 national censuses (Posel, 2015). Despite the decreases seen in both these areas, the figures are still high and are accompanied by high levels of inequality, with the Municipality’s overall Gini-coefficient remaining at 0.63 in 2015, unchanged from 2011 (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a). This inequality is still strongly manifested along racial lines with most of the poverty and unemployment being associated with the African ethnic group.
Although there has been significant investment in the provision of basic services and housing, there are still growing backlogs. The following statistics are taken from the 2017/2018 IDP for the Municipality (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a). In the case of housing for example, the eThekwini Municipality had delivered 186 000 homes by 2016 but, as of December 2016, the household backlog stood at 387 000 homes, with an estimated delivery timeframe of between 40 and 80 years depending on the provision of subsidies. Approximately 22.4% of the city’s population currently lives in informal settlements16. In the case of water provision, although there has been an increase in the percentage of households with access to piped water in the home dwelling, there was still a backlog of 32 803 consumer units in 2014/2015. The situation is similar for sanitation, with a backlog of 159 228
16 According to the South African National Housing Code informal settlements are identified according to their inappropriate locations, limited public and private sector investment, illegality and informality, poverty and vulnerability and social stress.
consumer units in 2014/2015, despite a 24% reduction in backlogs from 2010/2011. This socio- economic context increases the vulnerability of much of the population, especially to issues such as climate change, because they are not buffered from these impacts by having good services and infrastructure, and often live at a closer interface with the environment.
Environmental context
The natural environment plays a critical role in supporting human wellbeing and development in Durban, with approximately 33% of the municipal area having been identified as important from a biodiversity perspective (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a). Durban is situated at the centre of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Region, an area described by Conservation International17 as a
“Biodiversity Hotspot18“, one of only 36 in the world. Ongoing development pressures threaten these natural systems and the ecosystem services they provide (e.g. water supply, soil retention, flood attenuation etc). Already more than 54% of the municipal area has been transformed, with the area of remaining urban green space declining on an annual basis (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a). Despite their value, virtually every terrestrial habitat in Durban has undergone significant levels of transformation. The monitoring of quantitative targets set for the protection of different vegetation types indicates that of the 11 key vegetation types in Durban it is already impossible to meet the conservation targets for five (McLean et al., 2016). This has significant implications for Durban’s ability to sustain growth and development and to meet the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable, some of whom are directly reliant on nature’s services for their survival. This is particularly true in the large rural areas of the city, and therefore an important strategic focus for the city needs to be on ecological restoration, management and protection. This loss of ecosystems could also severely undermine the ability of these natural systems to contribute towards ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change (Roberts and O’Donoghue, 2013). However, opportunities exist for enhanced ecosystem based adaptation in Durban, if remaining areas can be restored, managed and protected.
Durban’s institutional context
EThekwini Municipality is governed by a 220 member Council (www.durban.gov.za, accessed 03/07/2017), with the current municipal structure based on a number of functional clusters, each headed by a Deputy City Manager, with associated sectoral Units (Figure 4.2). Each Unit is comprised of a number of Departments. It should be noted that the municipal organogram does undergo changes and therefore is included here for illustrative, rather than absolute, purposes. Reporting is undertaken in a hierarchical manner within this structure. Details on the functioning of municipalities in South Africa can be found in the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act (Act 117 of 1998). The Council operates on an Executive Committee system, rather than having an Executive Mayor and the administration is headed by a City Manager. The City Manager and municipal officials within the administration are responsible for carrying out the technical work of eThekwini Municipality, and elected politicians (called “councillors”) are responsible for decision-making. The number of councillors that make up the full Council is determined by the number of voters, and representation
17 Conservation International is an American non-profit environmental organization. Its goal is to protect nature as a source of food, fresh water, livelihoods and a stable climate (www.conservation.org).
18A ‘biodiversity hotspot’ is an area that contains some of the most diverse, but also the most threatened, biodiversity in the world.
is proportional to political party votes. In eThekwini Municipality, municipal officials interact with political structures via Portfolio Committees, which in turn report to a political Executive Committee and to the full Council. In some instances, municipal officials report directly to the Executive Committee. The citizens of Durban are able to access this decision-making process via ward19 committees and their local ward councillors. The Municipality’s current development priorities are outlined in its IDP and Spatial Development Framework 2012/2013- 2016/2017 (Taylor et al., 2014).
A number of characteristics are inherent in the way the eThekwini Municipality is structured, and these impact on the capacity of the institution for transformation. One of these factors is the lack of cross-sectoral interaction and integration within the Municipality. Although, in theory, the IDP is the tool to ensure integration of functions across different municipal departments, the reality is often very different, with departments often planning and working independently of each other. As an example, for the purposes of this thesis, interviews were conducted with officials from a number of municipal Departments and Units that will be affected by climate change. These included the Coastal Stormwater and Catchment Management Department (within the Engineering Unit), the Economic Development and Investment Promotion Unit, Disaster Management and Emergency Control Unit, EThekwini Water and Sanitation Unit, eThekwini Transport Authority, Human Settlements Unit and the Strategic Spatial Planning Branch of the Development Planning, Environment and Management Unit. These units are highlighted in grey in Figure 4.2. The Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department or “EPCPD” (part of the Development Planning, Environment and Management Unit), which is responsible for leading the climate adaptation work for eThekwini Municipality, is shaded in yellow. The location of these technical functions across different Units and Clusters in the Municipality’s structure is reinforced by hierarchical reporting and insufficient transversal coordination of work and strategies across these. Communication across such functions is critical, not only to ensure that projects are aligned in their overall objectives, but also to share insights and knowledge that will help to generate new ideas and possibilities. In many instances, existing institutional structures do not facilitate the kinds of interactions and cross-departmental linkages that are required in order to respond effectively and in a coordinated manner to the sustainable development challenges facing Durban. Local governments are also highly regulated, for example through the Municipal Finance Management Act 56 of 2003, Supply Chain Management Policy and Performance Management System which, although important, are increasingly being seen as punitive rather than facilitatory tools (discussed further in the results chapters of this thesis). This can hamper the willingness of individuals to be innovative.
19 A ‘ward’ is a spatial division within the city, for administrative and political purposes. In eThekwini Municipality, a ward councilor is elected for each ward.
Figure 4.2: A representation of the eThekwini Municipality organogram
City Manager
Chief Strategy Officer
Programme Management
Corporate Spatial Strategy
Infrastructure Asset Management
Sustainable and Resilient City Initiatives
DCM: Finance
Supply Chain Management
Internal Control and Business Systems
Expenditure
Revenue Management
Real Estate
City Fleet
DCM: Economic Development and
Planning
Economic Development and Investment Promotion
Business Support, Markets and Durban
Tourism
Development Planning, Environment and
Management
DCM: Human Settlements and
Infrastructure
Human Settlements
Engineering
Transport Authority
DCM: Community and Emergency Services
Health
Security Management
Fire and Emergency Services
Disaster Management and Emergency Control
Safer Cities and ITrump
Parks, Recreation and Agriculture
Metropolitan Police
DCM: Corporate and Human Resources
Occupational Health and Safety
Skills Development
Human Resources
Management Services and Organisational Development
DCM: Trading Services
Cleansing and Solid Waste
Water and Sanitation
Electricity
DCM: Governance and International
Relations
Communications
City Administration and Secretariat
International and Governance Relations
Sizakala Regional Centres
Community Participation and Action Support
Mayoral Parlour
Office of the City Manager
City Integrity and Investigations
Audit and risk assurance services
Legal and Compliance
Information Technology
Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Environmental
Planning and Climate Protection Department
The municipal organogram is comprised of Clusters, each of which is headed by a Deputy City Manager. Each cluster is made up of a number of sectoral Units, each of which contains a varying number of Departments. Grey shaded Units were included in interviews for this thesis. The yellow shaded Department is the lead department for the climate adaptation work, the Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department.
Climate change in Durban
Climate change is also a significant and increasing threat and is likely to cause a number of challenges for Durban. Climate change projections for Durban are that temperatures will increase by between 1.5⁰C and 2.5⁰C by 2065 (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a). Durban’s rainfall patterns are also likely to be affected. Although the total amount of rainfall is likely to increase slightly, the distribution of that rainfall will change, with longer periods of no rainfall and an increased frequency in high intensity rainfall events (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a). These changes are likely to impact on water availability, agricultural productivity and food security. Temperature increases will also likely exacerbate heat stress and the spread of water and vector borne diseases such as malaria and cholera to previously unaffected areas in Durban, as well as exacerbating respiratory conditions. Current sea level rise predictions suggest that a number of economic and tourist areas may be affected and that infrastructure as well as coastal vegetation are at risk because of coastal erosion. Extreme events such as flooding and storm surges are expected to increase in frequency and could have significant impacts on infrastructure and on vulnerable communities who are susceptible to heat and to flooding risk.
Climate change is also expected to impact on the distribution of plant and animal species (EThekwini Municipality, 2017a). For these reasons, climate change is perceived as a threat to sustainable development and to poverty alleviation and socio-economic development. In the context of a developing city such as Durban, where much of the population is already vulnerable due to poverty, unemployment, poor access to basic services, unsafe housing, health threats and an increasingly compromised natural environment (Roberts et al., 2016), climate change poses a serious threat not only to livelihoods, but also to governance and the economy within the municipal area. It is critical therefore that cities like Durban begin to prepare themselves for the likely changes that will take place, that climate adaptation strategies are a central part of local government planning and decision-making and that these are seen as a priority into the foreseeable future (Roberts et al., 2016). The eThekwini Municipality’s climate adaptation function is currently located in the EPCPD.
The socio-economic, environmental and climate change context that has been described for Durban in this section, highlights the importance of considering alternative and transformative development pathways for the city that can begin to reduce risk and vulnerability for the poorest of the region’s population and ensure more sustainable use of environmental resources. However, given the significant developmental challenges already facing the city, and the bureaucratic institutional structures that tend to limit, rather than facilitate, innovation, integrating a new agenda such as climate change adaptation into municipal planning and implementation in a way that challenges existing development paradigms towards more transformative pathways, is extremely difficult. This context is an important consideration when assessing the extent of change that has taken place in the Municipality in relation to climate change adaptation, and the interventions that might be needed to advance transformative adaptation. Although Durban’s own characteristics and challenges are critical in understanding the context in which the climate change adaptation agenda has emerged in the city, an equally important framing element is the national policy context for climate change in South Africa.