ALlTY
2.7 THE IN-SITU UPGRADE OF A COMMUNITY
2.7.1 Community leadership
Development initiatives in many settlements throughout South Africa almost ground to a halt during the late 1980s and early 1990s, because of the unstable political climate, the emergence of new community leadership structures and the erosion of formal administrative structures seen as being part of an illegitimate government (Hindson &
McCarthy 1994). New leadership structures were used to place obstacles in the way of development and service delivery in an attempt to gain political control of a community.
(Taylor 1994). Since the mid 1990s and the establishment of legitimate local government structures, democratically elected local councillors are now more accountable to residents within communities. The reconstitution of local government has allowed for a shift in power in many communities from local power elites towards individual residents, who are the beneficiaries of development.
2.7.2 Importance of community participation and consultation
International evidence suggests that community participation in the construction and management of services is crucial to the success of a project. Pillay (1994) maintains that community participation facilitates the project by ensuring the legitimacy of project interventions and builds local capacity for ongoing management of the development. She
also argues that community participation has the potential to transform communities by allowing access to decision making, facilitating organisation around issues of local concern, and promoting political awareness (Pillay 1994).
There is little doubt that the lack of consultation and interaction between the supply authority and consumers has, in many development initiatives, resulted in some form of resistance towards the delivery of the service. Appropriate technological solutions implemented by the service supplier have not always met the needs of the community as well as the development challenge of that community, essentially because the service was inappropriately implemented due to a lack of consultation and interaction with the community.In the 2003 United Nations World Development report, the point is made that a fundamental requirement in implementing water services, is that it is sustainable, and sustainabi1ity can only be created through an interactive process between the supplier, the community and development of the natural environment (UNWWAP 2003b).
During the past ten years, a period characterised by extensive international efforts to improve water supply and sanitation services in poor communities, developers, regulatory bodies and service providers began to acknowledge and embrace the notion that the sustainabi1ity of any service provision project depended greatly on ensuring that the users understood the need for the proposed improvements and the purpose of the improvements.
Ka1bermatten et al. (1999:8), argue that "investments should be based on 'effective demand': that is, that facilities should be provided only
if
the prospective users stated that they were willing and able to cover some or all ofthe investment costs (directly in cash, or by in-kind contributions oflabour and materials) and at least all ofthe costs for operation and maintenance." 'Ownership' of such an investment by a community is far more likely to be sustainable than if it is merely given to a community. This is a very important concept, and one that seems to be gaining international acceptance and momentum.Certainly, in the South African context, this could be applied, although each household is still entitled, in terms of government policy, to 6000 litres of free water per month (or 25 litres per person per day).
2.7.3 Partnership between the community and the local authority
It is very evident that the relationship between the local authority and the community is extremely important in any in-situ upgrade project. Too often the first point of contact between these two parties is one of contrast and confrontation. This is due to the fact that although the local authority may be responsible for encouraging and supporting development that results in an improvement of the quality of life of its residents, it also has a regulatory responsibility to enforce regulations which, informal communities by their very nature, often transgress.
The long-term success and sustainability of such a project hinges on a good working relationship between these two parties. As Abbott and Douglas (2001) argue, similar partnerships that are currently being forged between the public and private sector need to be initiated between the local authority and the community. Unconditional support and resources to the community is certainly not the answer. No private/public partnership is successful under these circumstances. Abbott and Douglas (2001) explain further that the partnership must include a critical assessment of what the objectives of the "upgrade" are to be and more importantly, a willingness to give and take on both sides. This leads to a very important concept, and that is the ideaof"community enablement", This concept, as Helmsing and de Bos (1998:74) explain in Abbott and Douglas (2001:71), "seeks to strengthen communities and their organisations and to make communities, via collective actions, eitherwholly or partially,responsiblefor particular services" . Counter arguments to the public-private partnership concept as a model for water service providers, are documented in Hagget al. (2003).For example, some critics have accused DWAF that it is government's responsibility to ensure that all citizenshave an equitable access to services.
Requiring financial assurance of a project first, and then making the community responsible, sacrifices the rights of the poor in favour of the fiscal needs of local government and the profits of the private sector.
2.7.4 Implementation of services in an existing community
A characteristic of nearly all informal settlementsis the lack of an adequate access to bulk infrastructure.There is invariably a lack of bulk water provision and bulk sewage disposal, coupled with difficult terrain, and these factors often constrain the levels of service
provision to communal water points and pit latrines, both of which have potential associated environmental problems.
An accepted policy in the installation of services to informal settlements is that they must be upgradeable. However, Taylor (1994) argues that given the nature of settlements, this is not always possible and if it is possible, often comes at much higher cost than would be for a greenfields development.
Land occupied by informal settlements tends, in many cases, to be on land that is either environmentally degraded or land that is prone to natural disasters such as flooding, landslides or collapses (Schoeman,MacKay& Stephenson 2001). Financial constraints are always an issue. Not only are the communities that are being upgraded invariably extremely poor, but also because of the often-difficult terrain in and around informal settlements, especially in KwaZulu-Natal, larger sums of money are usually required for infrastructure than are required for greenfield projects. Also, because of the poverty of the community, there is difficulty in accessing finances for development through the conventional financial markets.
These factors must be recognised in the early stages of planning an informal settlement upgrade. But, perhaps more importantly, and as Sowman and Urquhart (1998) recognise, the planning process must go further by placing all these factors at the core of the development process.Without satisfactorily addressing all the factors the project is likely to fail at some point in the future.
2.7.5 Impacts of relocating a community
Any in-situ housing development upgrade project involves a certain amount of disruption to individuals,families and communities. The relocation of an established community can be very disruptive. Studies undertaken by Abbott and Douglas (2001) and Taylor (1994) suggest that residents of informal communities are socially very closely knit and reliant upon one another. This is supported by Sowman and Urquhart (1998) who maintain that informal communities rely on social unity and community interaction as an important source of support. This study also determined that it is very important not to disrupt existing social groups, especially in poorer communities, because cultural activities and 42
habits help communities to maintain bonds during difficult times.
2.7.6 Basis for upgrading (development objectives)
Abbott and Douglas (2001) contend that the objective of development initiatives is no longer to reduce income poverty and increase employment but rather to diminish deprivation, enhance well-being and develop a sustainable livelihood. Thus, the basis of projects aimed at upgrading communities should be economic development and social integration. The success of such initiatives is heavily dependant on the establishment of a strong partnership between local government and local communities.