3.13 STRATEGIC ANALYSIS
3.13.2 KEY DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES
3.13.1.6 INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES TRENDS AND PATTERNS
Water, electricity and sanitation are key services, which relate to growth of the rural areas and these need improvements if the rural areas are to develop to its potential.
o Water is the most critical servicing issue facing the District, which is reflected in the fact that the vast majority of rural areas don’t have access to potable water. The IDP for Zululand acknowledges this need.
o The need for adequate sanitation within the nodes in the Municipality is also highlighted as a concern. This is important, not only for economic development, but also for basic health and safety.
o Large parts of the District still do not have access to electricity despite electricity being a driver of the economy. The sprawling nature of rural settlements contributes partly to this problem.
o Many of the district roads are poorly maintained, which impacts on the locational advantages of some of the rural service nodes.
CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION IMPLICATIONS Growing Population The Zululand District has the third largest population in the KwaZulu
Natal Province, with 892 310 people. The district population increases by 2,37% from 803 576 in 2011 to 892 310 in 2016. The population is projected to increase to 1 395 093 by 2035. Abaqulusi has the highest population growth rate.
• Plan for increasing population where densities are high and where there is remarkable population growth.
Poverty Poverty in the ZDM manifests itself in different forms including income poverty indicated by a large number of households who live below poverty datum line and have no or limited income. Poor access to basic services is also another indicator of poverty.
• Make provision for the indigent households.
• Facilitate access to social welfare grants.
• Create employment opportunities.
High unemployment rate Unemployment rate in the ZDM is ……….. • Implement programmes to promote economic development.
• Implement job creation programmes.
Service backlogs Although the ZDM has made substantial progress in improving the living conditions, service backlogs are still relatively high. This includes lack of refuse removal service in rural settlements, water backlog, sanitation backlog and poor access to reliable sources of energy. 25% obtain water from the river, 14.8% does not have access to electricity, 8.2% does not have access to sanitation, and 65.8% use own dump to deal with refuse.
• Relative poverty defined in terms of access to basic services.
• Poor living conditions.
Large number of indigent households
About 53% of the population in the Zululand District Municipality is indigent. The situation is generally the same in all local
municipalities with uPhongolo LM having about 58% of indigent households.
• Large number of households that qualify for free basic services.
• Small revenue base.
Dense unplanned rural settlements
Dense rural settlements occur in different parts of the municipality.
They include Hlahlindlela in Abaqulusi; Frischgewaagt, Bilanyoni and Mangosuthu Village in eDumbe; Nongoma; and Ulundi.
• Poor living standards and conditions.
• Emerge of peri-urban settlement which may degenerate into urban slums.
• Scattered low density unplanned
rural settlements
The ZDM is predominantly rural and is characterised by scattered and isolated low-density rural settlements. This settlement pattern
• Low levels of services.
•
CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION IMPLICATIONS creates a number of challenges for an effective and efficient delivery
of services. Population is decreasing in some of these settlements as people move to areas where there is better access to public
facilities, basic services, and public transport.
• Impact of land reform on
agricultural sector
……..% of agricultural land is the ZDM is subject to land restitution and land tenure reform. Most of the farms acquired through the land reform programme are no longer farmed commercially, lying fallow and/use for settlement purposes. Most of the farming infrastructure has been removed.
• Reduction of high value agricultural land.
• Decline in the quality of farms.
• Decline in the contribution of the agricultural sector to the district economy.
Unplanned growth of Nongoma Town
Nongoma Town has grown organically without the benefit of any spatial plan. This has resulted in heavy traffic, informal trading happening haphazardly and serious encroachment onto the road reserve.
• Nongoma Town urgently needs a spatial plan and a land use management scheme.
Lack of land use management in rural settlements
There is no land use management system in the rural settlements.
This is despite local municipalities having developed and adopted land use schemes. Some households have located on wetlands, flood lines and other areas that are not suitable for human
settlements. Growth of settlements is also fast reducing agricultural land.
• Facilitate the incorporation of traditional land management system into the land use scheme.
• Provide traditional councils with mapped information indicating areas that are not suitable for human habitation.
Natural disasters The district is prone to natural disasters such as drought, flooding, lightning, and veld fires. The ZDM does not have adequate capacity to respond to natural disasters. The Disaster Management Plan is also outdated, and the coordinating structures should be
strengthened.
• Create additional capacity for disaster management.
• Renew and strengthen disaster management coordinating structures in the district.
Management of natural water resources
The ZDM is endowed with a number of natural water resources where some of the major rivers than runs through the district rise.
Some of these are under pressure from settlement, agriculture and mining which impacts negatively on the flow and quality of water.
• Water catchment management.
• Integration of environmental management into the Land Use Schemes.
CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION IMPLICATIONS Relatively high vacancy rate In 2018/2019 financial year 45 posts were vacant. While all senior
management level posts have been filled, vacant posts may slow delivery of services affect the moral of employees.
• Continuous training of staff and councillors.
Skill development and training Local government environment is continuously evolving through the introduction of new legislation, regulations, and approaches to the delivery of services and governance.
Effective implementation of policies
The ZDM has developed and is implementing policies in various aspects of its core business as a means to strengthen management, delivery of services and governance.
• Effective implementation of policies.
Embracing constantly improving technology
Information technology is constantly evolving. The ZDM should take advantage of this to improve planning and delivery of services. New technologies should be adopted for the generation and
management of spatial data, water infrastructure management, etc.
• Embrace technology and keep pace with it or risk poor access to information and inability to communicate effectively.
Implementation of an organisational Performance Management System
The municipality has developed and is implementing an OPMS. This system needs to be refined and perhaps be automated as well.
• Introduce automated PMS.
Water and sanitation backlogs 21 540 households either do not have access to water or have inadequate access to water while another 21 171 have access to water below RDP standards. 30 586 rural households have inadequate access to sanitation. The majority of these are in Nongoma, Abaqulusi and uPhongolo Local Municipalities.
• Fast-track the implementation of water schemes.
• Maintain existing water infrastructure.
• Improve sanitation levels in dense rural settlements.
Lack of refuse management system in rural communities
Rural settlements do not have access to a waste removal service.
They use own dump to dispose refuse. As a result, refuse is not collected and disposed appropriately.
• Initiate refuse recycling programmes in rural areas.
• Educate the community about waste management.
Quality of access roads 48 919 households do not have adequate road access. The situation is more pronounced in Abaqulusi Municipality where this affects 16 428 households. The condition of many gravel roads is also very poor.
• Support road upgrading programme.
• Identify settlements where it is not economic or beneficial to upgrade access roads and informal residents accordingly.
Electricity backlog 25,915 households do not have access to electricity. The electricity • Support local municipalities in improving bulk
CHALLENGE DESCRIPTION IMPLICATIONS network in the southern portions of the have very limited capacity,
which contributes to figures of areas with no electricity and the district’s backlogs.
electricity supply.
• Explore alternative sources of energy.
Economic stagnation The district economy is not growing. Instead, it shows signs of decline. Contribution of agricultural sector to the economy has declined over the last few years. The same applies to mining. There is overreliance on community services.
• Identify catalytic projects for stimulating the economy.
• Adopt regulations and systems that promotes investment.
Tourism development and marketing
The district has huge potential for heritage and nature-based tourism. However, this sector remains poorly developed and the district poorly integrated into the provincial tourism market.
• Facilitate development of catalytic tourism products.
Concentration of business in existing towns
Business and commercial activities tend to concentrate in the existing towns far away from the majority of the population. These towns include Vryheid when the majority of the population is near eMondlo Township, Phongola, Ulundi and Nongoma.
• Facilitate development of smart growth centres in strategic areas in rural settlements.
Inadequate access to public facilities
A large number of households walk more than 5km to access schools, clinics, and other social facilities. This is beyond the recommended range for these facilities. The situation is more serious in sparsely populated settlements.
Dependence on grant funding The District is predominantly rural in character. It generates limited revenue which results in dependence on grant funding. Water and Sanitation which are the major functions are funded by the National Department of Human Settlement, Water and Sanitation.
• Identify other funding streams.
• Improve revenue collection.
Effective vertical and horizontal coordination of development activities
IGR structures within the district are not operating optimally. The frequency of meetings should be improved and agenda with annual targets clearly defined.