Assessing Stakeholder Perceptions in Participatory Infrastructure Upgrades – a Case Study of Project Silvertown in Cape Town
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Assessing Stakeholder Perceptions in Participatory Infrastructure Upgrades – a Case Study of Project Silvertown in Cape Town By: Shamiso Kumbirai Dissertation presented for the Degree of Master of Philosophy in Civil Engineering Department of Civil Engineering: Faculty of the Built Environment University of Cape Town University of Cape Town Supervisor: Co-Supervisor: Nicky Wolmarans Prof. Ulrike Rivett The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to following people for their assistance with this dissertation: • My wonderful supervisor and co-supervisor Nicky Wolmarans and Ulrike Rivett. My postgraduate journey was considerably easier thanks to your guidance and patience during this process. • The iCOMMS research team. Being a part of a research unit has been so beneficial in the development of my research, and has also allowed me the opportunity to expand my learning and foster new friendships with researchers involved in work of a similar nature. • Finally, I would like to thank my family for their encouragement and understanding throughout this process. i Plagiarism declaration I, SHAMISO KUMBIRAI, know the meaning of plagiarism and declare that all the work in the document, save for that which is properly acknowledged, is my own. This thesis/dissertation has been submitted to the Turnitin module and I confirm that my supervisor has seen my report and any concerns revealed by such have been resolved with my supervisor. Signed: ……………………… ii Abstract This study articulates the perceptions and expectations different stakeholders in sanitation infrastructure upgrades have to determine the implications their contrasting views have towards the success of participatory upgrades. The success of public infrastructure projects, such as sanitation infrastructure upgrades, requires balancing issues relating to technical and financial feasibility as well as social considerations. Community participation is believed to be an effective means to addressing social issues relating to public infrastructure projects and improving project success by including communities in decision-making processes. In South Africa, community participation processes have been mandated for use in large infrastructure projects – particularly when upgrading informal settlements. However, in practice, evidence suggests that, in some instances, the implementation of community participation processes have been reduced to a tick-boxing exercise, providing communities with little to no agency. Research reviewed found that one of the factors contributing to the poor project success is the neglect of participatory processes in projects, as different expectations and motivations held by stakeholders are not addressed. This study involved a review on legislation involving sanitation infrastructure and community participation processes relating to the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP) in particular. The investigation was conducted using the single case study of Project Silvertown, the controversial project that in 2010 was coined by the media as the “toilet war saga” in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township. The project was implemented in terms of the UISP with the controversy revolving around the installation of 1 316 unenclosed toilets provided by the City of Cape Town. A systems thinking-based framework called Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) was used to articulate the views of the different stakeholders involved in Project Silvertown. CSH makes use of a set of 12 questions aimed to make explicit the various value judgements upon which different stakeholder groups frame their understanding and beliefs. CSH maps the bigger picture in any given social intervention by not only identifying any conflict or misunderstanding iii between stakeholders, but also examining the influence behind those value judgements held. Documentary resources on Project Silvertown were used to gather secondary data on stakeholder groups and analysed using the CSH framework to structure the data. The key findings in this study revealed the following disjunctions affected the success of the Project Silvertown participatory upgrade, namely: i) Different stakeholder expectations of community participation and decision-making ii) Differing stakeholder visions for project outcomes iii) Poor capacitation of community members iv) Disjunction of community representation by legitimate community leaders v) Disjunctions of UISP policy interpretation The use of the CSH framework proved a valuable tool for unfolding the contrasting perspectives held by stakeholders in a participatory upgrade. As an evaluative tool CSH also helped to assess various project dynamics such as the power and knowledge structures that could negatively influence the overall success of a project. Findings of the conflicts between stakeholders in a given system can contribute towards identifying what stakeholder assumptions ought to be considered and built into planning public infrastructure projects to reduce the likelihood of project failures. iv Table of contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... Plagiarism declaration .................................................................................................................. i Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... ii List of figures ............................................................................................................................. vi List of tables ............................................................................................................................... vi 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Rationale ............................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Problem statement ................................................................................................. 6 1.3. Research aim ......................................................................................................... 6 1.4. Research questions ................................................................................................ 6 1.5. Research methodology .......................................................................................... 7 1.6. Outline of the study ............................................................................................... 8 2. Project Silvertown ............................................................................................................. 10 3. Legislative and policy framework on sanitation in South Africa ..................................... 17 3.2 The Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme.......................................... 20 3.3 UISP funding structure ....................................................................................... 23 3.4 Community participation in sanitation projects .................................................. 24 3.5 Summary ............................................................................................................. 26 4 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 31 4.1 Research design .................................................................................................. 31 4.2 Research methodology ........................................................................................ 32 4.2.1 Critical Systems Heuristics ................................................................................. 32 4.2.2 CSH boundary questions .................................................................................... 33 4.2.3 Systematic boundary critique .............................................................................. 36 v 4.2.4 CSH stakeholder definitions ............................................................................... 36 4.3 Data collection .................................................................................................... 39 4.4 Data analysis ....................................................................................................... 40 4.5 Validity ............................................................................................................... 42 4.6 Ethical considerations ......................................................................................... 42 5 Analysis of CSH results .................................................................................................... 44 5.1 Stakeholder analysis ........................................................................................... 44 5.2 Summary of constructed CSH answers .............................................................. 49 5.2.1 Sources of motivation .......................................................................................... 49 5.2.2 Sources of power ................................................................................................