- The current state of water and sanitation infrastructure in South Africa is poor.
- This situation is expected to deteriorate with increasing urbanisation, thus putting human health and economic development at risk.
- While the South African government has made efforts to invest in infrastructure, the outcomes generally do not match the investment as reflected in the Auditor General’s reports.
- It is thus critical to have a deeper understanding of some of the underlying causes of the poor condition of South Africa’s water and sanitation services to develop impactful future solutions.
A new paper entitled ‘Unwilling or unable? A critical reflection on the state of municipal water services, 2019–2024,’ provides a substantiated perspective on the current sub-optimal state of municipal water and sanitation services in South Africa. Municipal water and sanitation services are considered for the 2019–2024 period using a seven-pillar assessment framework to evaluate whether the status quo is underlain by unwillingness or inability (or both) on the part of municipalities. The analysis shows that there is much room for improvement and identifies inefficiency as a critical priority area for improvement.
Specifically, the authors find that municipalities are both unwilling and unable to deliver quality water and sanitation services, their administration and infrastructure management is poor plus they are constrained by inadequate support from the other spheres of government and a critical shortage of funds (for services rendered and from the fiscus). The authors add that existing legislative and administrative processes can address some of these challenges
Link to the full paper HERE
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
