This initial research is undertaken with the aim of providing an evaluation of the installation of the water supply and sanitation service for the in-situ upgrade of Newtown. In many water supply and sanitation service projects, delivery agents could not achieve the goal of sustainability.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
This study therefore takes these potential issues into account and evaluates the in-situ upgrading of the water supply and sanitation service to the Newtown community. What is the story and what are the dynamics behind the in-situ upgrading of the water supply and sanitation project in the Newtown settlement. iii).
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
STRUCTURE
Since the chosen case study is an in situ upgrading project!, the chapter concludes by discussing some important dynamics of an in situ project. The last part of Chapter 2 presents the conceptual framework of the study together with the criteria that will be used in the evaluation of the case study.
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The provision of water and sanitation services, essentially a local government responsibility, is a complex process with multiple guiding principles, laws and organizations playing an important role in service delivery. Consequently, this review provides a detailed description of the policy, legislative and institutional environment in which the provision of water and sanitation services operates.
INTERNATIONAL WATER AND SANITATION CRISIS
According to the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water e-r". sanitation services (van Damme 2001) 34; Universal water supply and sanitation coverage by 2025 - a target already widely accepted - means that in urban areas 1.9 billion more people will need water supply and 2.1 billion will need sanitation services.
SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCES IN WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION SERVICES
The communities are responsible for the financial management of the projects and as reported by van Schalkwyk (2001), the projects have been successful. The community must then contribute a further 15% of the cost by providing labor and materials (van Schalkwyk 2001).
WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA
- Brief history of water and sanitation supply
- Water and sanitation related diseases
- Impacts of a poor water supply and sanitation service
- Water supply and sanitation service projects
Altogether there are over 10 000 deaths each year from water and sanitation related diseases in South Africa. An understanding of preventive measures will further emphasize the importance of a safe water supply and sanitation system.
THE POLICY, LEGISLATIVE AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
- Policy Framework
- Legislative framework
- Institutional framework - roles and responsibilities of national, provincial and local spheres of government
The Water Services Act (Act 108 of 1997) and the National Water Act (Act 36 of 1998) provide the legislative framework for water supply and use. It is also responsible for developing statutes that regulate the conditions for the provision of water services.
ALlTY
Water supply
Older areas of the Pietermaritzburg municipality have up to 48 hours of stored water, while parts of Greater Edendale have only 24 hours of storage time available (Bruce McCormack & Associates, Maseko Hlongwa & Associates 1999a). Another problem faced by the Municipality is that there are many parts of Greater Edendale that do not have alternative bulk water supply, thus reducing the reliability of continuous water supply (Msunduzi Municipality 2002).
Water supply policy and objectives
Impact of Government's free basic services policy
Msunduzi Municipality's interim basic free water policy
Sanitation services
The rest of the municipal area has its own drainage systems. Unventilated latrines serve approximately half of the Greater Edendale area. Due to the great need for improved sanitation and the requirement for local municipalities to provide such services against severe financial constraints (effectively ruling out water-based systems), alternative methods such as the ventilated improved pit latrine (VIP) are being installed. in great numbers. The Msunduzi Municipality IDP (2002) notes that there are no short or even medium term plans to extend water sewers to many of the suburban and rural areas of Edendale and Vulindlela.
Msunduzi Municipality water and sanitation policy for PHB funded projects
Water will be contained in a ground or roof tank. This method of distribution will only be provided when the geotechnical conditions at the site provide adequate penetration. This method of delivery will only be offered when geotechnical conditions at the site do not provide adequate penetration.
THE IN-SITU UPGRADE OF A COMMUNITY
- Community leadership
- Importance of community participation and consultation
- Partnership between the community and the local authority
- Implementation of services in an existing community
- Impacts of relocating a community
- Basis for upgrading (development objectives)
There is little doubt that the lack of consultation and interaction between the supply authority and consumers in many development initiatives has resulted in a form of resistance to the delivery of the service. In the 2003 United Nations World Development Report, it is emphasized that a fundamental requirement for the implementation of water services is that it is sustainable, and that sustainability can only be created through an interactive process between the supplier, society and the development of the natural environment. (UNWWAP 2003b).
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Abbott and Douglas (2001) argue that the goal of development initiatives is no longer to reduce income poverty and increase employment, but rather to reduce deprivation, increase well-being and develop sustainable livelihoods. The success of such initiatives is highly dependent on the establishment of a strong partnership between local government and local communities.
CRITERIA TO BE USED TO EVALUATE THE CASE STUDY
NEWTOWN (EDENDALE UNIT RR)
- INTRODUCTION
- NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
- Topography
- Geology and soils
- SOCIO- ECONOMIC STATUS
- HISTORY
- Relocation to present site
- Available services prior to development initiative
- DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES
- Business Partners for Development (BPD)
- Water and sanitation cluster
- The KwaZulu-Natal pilot project
- The Newtown project
- Failure of the low pressure ground tank water supply system
- PRESENT SITUATION
These two projects are collectively known as the KwaZulu-Natal BPD Project (BPD 200 lb). The three-sector partnership is based on collaboration between Ethekweni Municipality, Msunduzi Municipality, Umgeni Water, Mvula Trust, Vivendi Water and Water Research Commission. The main objective of the BPD project in Newtown was to investigate and improve health and hygiene conditions and practices in the community (BPD 2000a). The result of this dissatisfaction was community resistance to the system and ultimately rejection of the system.
With this system, water is fed by gravity to specially constructed yard tanks. The tank inlet has a flow regulator (drip feed), which is large enough to give a predetermined volume (about 200 liters per day) to each household.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
- INTRODUCTION
- METHODOLOGY
- Case study
- Research method
- Data collection
- FIELD TRIPS
- LIMITATIONS
In this project, secondary data sources will be extensively used to collect data on the development of the Newtown settlement and the implementation of the water supply and sanitation system. Such data will be reviewed to properly understand the dynamics of the case study. These visits include on-site observations of the installation and use of the low-pressure water supply system and sanitation.
This broad aim of the research project will be pursued with the understanding that the research period is very limited.
Introduction
Based on the income profile and the size of the plots, the level of water and sanitation service provided to residents of Newtown was a limited water supply and a VIP latrine, in accordance with the water and sanitation policy of the Municipality. This method of water supply and sanitation system was recently adopted by the Msunduzi Municipality (at the time Pietermaritzburg-Msunduzi TLC) as a way to provide services to the poorer parts of the community and at the same time bring these communities into the housing market. . The result of the unhappiness in the water supply was that the community resisted and then rejected the system.
The effect of this was that the water supply of customers living upstream of the development was compromised.
History Of Newtown
At the end of the development project, a series of complaints from various community bodies and residents began to permeate the Municipality regarding the water supply. It became clear that the community was not satisfied with the water supply system that had been installed. The community at large was unhappy with the slow progress of the housing project and also felt that they were 'forced' to sign the social compact, which included the level of services to be provided (BPD 200Ib). Further expansion of this area was therefore discouraged and therefore did not form part of the NPA development initiative in 1993 and 1994.
Although there was a need for some additional sites for expansion of the extended family, it was essentially the lack of services within the settlement that needed to be upgraded.
Present status
According to Hoole and Roos (2003 Appendix Apers.comm), (two development planners from the Natal Provincial Administration who were closely involved in the development project when the Natal Provincial Administration was administering Edendale), Newtown has never received the same attention and the proper administration that other areas of Edendale have received. Unlike other areas of Edendale, Newtown did not experience any rapid population growth and therefore pressures on land have not been as great as other areas (Msunduzi Municipality 2003a). Due to the natural increase in Newtown's population over the years, many of the people resided in the existing stands in extended family groups.
Fourie (2003 AppendixApers.comm.), project engineer for the Newtown Housing Project, states that since there was a clear desire by the local community to live in the same area as their families, there was a need for additional places for sons who had grown up and now required own sites to build a house.
Aims and objectives
Methodology
Data were collected from sources such as government records, both provincial and local, unpublished consultant reports, archived datasets, journals and published research, both national and international. These data were reviewed to properly understand the dynamics of the case study.
Results and Discussion
- Ensure that the project is demand driven
- Establish community needs and required service level
- Involve the community in decision making
- Establish a community elected committee
- Involve women in the project
- Ensure thatthe community invests in the project
- Identify community members who will manage the scheme after implementation
- Resolve political issues during the planning stage
- Provide education, training and awareness programmes
- Provide upgradeable services
- Determine punitive measures for non-compliance
- Provide post-project support
This is another example of the lack of communication between the developer, the municipality and the community. File documents (Msunduzi Municipality 2003e & Msunduzi Municipality 2003g) and interview results (Crabtree 2003 Appendix A, Mbatha 2003 Appendix Apers.comm.) show that the composition of the Development Committee changed continuously during the years the committee existed. Crabtree (2003, appendix Apers.comm.) states that all training on the use of the water system and the best use of VIPs was provided by the developer and the municipality to the members of the Development Committee during the monthly committee meetings.
Bharath (2003 Appendix A pers.comm.) has recognized the need for a free help desk where residents can inquire about information about any of the services provided to each household.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
This was the only way we could guarantee community support throughout the project. DM: Do you know if the community's willingness to invest in the project was identified in the early stages of the project? During the implementation phase of the project, were community members identified who would manage and maintain the program?
DM: Was the community's willingness to invest in the project established during the planning stage. Investment by the community might have encouraged a sense of ownership of the project within the community. There were meetings held by the developer and the municipality with the community representatives.
