Urban Areas in the Region of Moretele, North West Province, South Africa
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Examining the dynamics shaping water access for rural and peri- urban areas in the region of Moretele, North West Province, South Africa Name: Motshwaedi Sepeng Student Number: 419847 School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies Supervisor: Dr Siân Butcher Declaration I declare that this thesis is my own, unaided work. It is being submitted for the degree Master of Science at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination at any other University. 26 August 2019 ---------------------------------- ------------------------------ Signature of candidate Date ii Dedication I would love to dedicate this to the memory of Bra Moses 'Moshe' Mosweu, who we loved, and we will always remember. So long, BIG Moss!! (1972-2000) ♪ Shena - Let The Beat Hit 'em ♫ iii Abstract The Constitution of South Africa affirms all the citizens the right to water access, but there are some communities in the rural and peri-urban areas such as the ones in the Moretele region (North West) without stable and reliable modes of water access. This echoes wider scholarship that argues that in a democratic South Africa, inequalities in water service delivery still run deep. In Moretele, the lack of reliable water access has been a problem that has been persistent, and it has not been clear how the associated institutions have adequately addressed this over time. Through the lens of political ecology and water governance, this study examined the dynamics shaping water access in the region of Moretele. Its multi- site design included three Moretele villages (Makapanstad, Ngobi and Carousel View) which shared the same Water Service Authority (WSA), the Moretele Local Municipality (MLM), and Water Service Provider (WSP), the City of Tshwane (CoT). A qualitative approach combined document review together with observations, structured and semi-structured interviews to collect data from resident households and the relevant institutions. The findings reveal that groundwater was and is still the most common source of water in Makapanstad and Ngobi while Carousel View receives reliable reticulated water supply from the MLM. This uneven water provisioning within the same municipality reflects particular challenges and slow progress around upgrading bulk water infrastructure and borehole infrastructure. Communication between authorities and residents around these challenges has been limited. Until these function at an optimum level, residents of more rural settlements in the Moretele continue to use multiple strategies to meet their water needs, in the absence of more reliable provisioning by the relevant water authorities. Keywords: Rural and Peri-Urban Areas, Service Delivery, Water Access, Municipalities, South Africa iv Acknowledgements Firstly I would like to thank God Almighty for granting me the opportunity and strength, to embark on this beautiful research journey, to persist and fulfilling it satisfactorily. I am very grateful to Dr Siân Butcher, a lecturer from the Wits School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies for her full commitment to offering guidance and support to my research project. She knew little about the Moretele region, but her tenacity to learn and help directed her to understand and rightfully supervise the progress of this work purposefully. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the National Research Foundation (NRF) for the financial support that kept the project alive. Most importantly I am very grateful to all the people who made it possible to provide me with the relevant data required for the project. It was heart-warming and well appreciated for the people from the three selected Moretele villages to welcome me into their homes to share with me their past and present experiences of water access and supply in the region. I highly appreciate that all the called upon officials from Moretele Local Municipality and City of Tshwane availed themselves to provide information about their roles in ensuring water access as per their respective duties. I am also very thankful to the external examiners for their constructive comments which helped to strengthen my work. Lastly, I would like to thank my family for the understanding and the support that they have given me through the journey. v List of Acronyms BPDM Bojanala Platinum District Municipality BWSS Bulk Water Supply Schemes CoT City of Tshwane DPSA Department of Public Service and Administration DWAF Department of Water Affairs and Forestry DWS Department of Water and Sanitation ENSO El Nino Southern Oscillation FBW Free Basic Water GEAR Growth Employment and Redistribution IDP Integrated Development Plan IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management KWTP Klipdrift Water Treatment Plant MDGs Millennium Development Goals MLM Moretele Local Municipality MW Magalies Water NRF National Research Foundation PPVM Protest and Public Violence Monitor RDP Reconstruction and Development Programme TWPP Temba Water Purification Plant WMA Water Management Area WSA Water Service Authority WSP Water Service Provider vi List of Figures Figure 1: Accountability Relationships in Service Delivery ................................ 22 Figure 2: Map of the municipalities in the North West province with Moretele Local Municipality in the top right corner .......................................................... 35 Figure 3: Map of the Moretele region showing some of its surroundings and research sites pointed in red dots (Makapanstad, Carousel View and Ngobi villages) ............................................................................................................. 35 Figure 4: Rough composition sketch of Makapanstad ......................................... 38 Figure 5: Makapanstad T-junction; separating the north, south and the west of the village ................................................................................................................ 39 Figure 6: Road from heading into the western end of the village ........................ 39 Figure 7: Potoane Road heading to the eastern end of the village ....................... 40 Figure 8: Tshwane River in the north part of Makapanstad village ..................... 40 Figure 9: Map of Makapanstad village in relation to its neighbouring settlements .......................................................................................................................... 42 Figure 10: Map of Carousel View in relation to its neighbouring settlements ..... 43 Figure 11: (A) Carousel View’s RDP Houses with pit toilets on the side in. (B) One of the streets in Carousel View. .................................................................. 44 Figure 12: Rough composition sketch of Carousel View .................................... 46 vii Figure 13: Map of Ngobi village in relation to neighbouring settlements ............ 48 Figure 14 (A) A Street in Ngobi village and (B) photo showing the beach-like sandy loam soil from Ngobi village ................................................................................. 49 Figure 15: Rough composition sketch of Ngobi .................................................. 51 Figure 16: Advertisement of drilling borehole water (A & B). Water being drilled in the home one of the participant (C &D).. ...................................................................... 73 Figure 17: A water tanker delivering water to a water point in Makapanstad ...... 76 Figure 18: A water truck at a water point in Makapanstad pouring the water into stationary tank ................................................................................................... 76 Figure 19: Makapanstad water reservoirs ........................................................... 82 Figure 20: Neglected (A) and vandalised public water infrastructures (B) .......... 83 Figure 21: Public standpipe without a valve (A).Household water tap without a valve (B). Plastic tap in one of the households’ yards in Makapanstad (C) ......... 83 Figure 22: Burned public water tank as a result of the water protests .................. 84 Figure 23: Railway separating Carousel View (right of the railway) and Bosplaas East (left of the railway). .................................................................................... 89 Figure 24: A yard in Carousel View displaying a tank to store water, a water tap and meter ........................................................................................................... 91 Figure 25: Standpipes in front of Carousel Hotel (A & B) .................................. 92 viii Figure 26: Plastic swimming pool connected to a household tap (A). Planted fruits and vegetables respectively (B & C). ................................................................. 93 Figure 27: Functioning public tap connected from the public borehole structure (A). Public borehole structure (B). Household tap connected from the public borehole structure (C). ....................................................................................... 98 Figure 28: One of the extraction stations situated in the forest north of Ngobi and Transactie (A&B) .............................................................................................. 99 Figure 29: Transactie reservoir plant structure (A). The machine used to purify the extracted borehole water (B). ............................................................................. 99 Figure 30: Functioning borehole water tap with a stand inside on of the yard of the participants