An investigation into a viable service delivery system in relation to water and sanitation in Ugu District Municipality

Abstract

Water needs permeate all aspects of human existence and activities, and water is fundamental and irreplaceable to humans. However, developing effective water and sanitation governance arrangements is of increasing concern. Although a general conceptualisation of governance exists, there is little guidance on a governance system’s operational and evaluative components. Therefore, fundamental challenges to improving water governance are identified and investigated in the study. The research focus is on holistic governance issues concerning water and sanitation provision to households and businesses, with special reference to the Ugu District Municipality (UDM) in the KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Governance is analysed based on interconnectedness of structures and system components to achieve organisational results. A qualitative method, combined with systems thinking methodologies, namely a Viable Systems Model (VSM) is used, as well as Soft systems methodology (SSM). Semi-structured interviews to targeted municipal officials and focus groups of ward councillors were used to gather information, share perceptions, experiences, concerns, and perspectives in water and sanitation service delivery. Interview results are an indicator of the generation and applicability of VSM to service delivery issues at UDM and provided empirical evidence when VSM gaps were identified. VSM data consisted of an initial comprehensive system map, comparing various manifestations of the organisation within their environment. The analysis demonstrated municipal challenges as a combination of soft and hard issues, including leadership oversight, fragmentation of structures, lack of information coordination and shortages of resources. VSM also fosters an indepth understanding of the UDM as a system, supporting its suitability, although the ability to implement suggested improvements was not confirmed. The study emphasises the necessity for a holistic approach and heeding of soft issues when providing water and sanitation. The study contribution includes VSM application to strengthen governance in water service authorities, highlighting VSM strengths and shortfalls in the applied context, and presents derived methodological lessons, which broaden the knowledge of employing VSM and support its application in practice.