Equitable access to water at Alfred Duma Local Municipality
Water plays a crucial role in the life of the society, even though the factors such as pollution, population growth and poor allocation of resources has placed severe pressures on sufficient and equitable water supply. Equitable access to water is part of the Sustainable Development Goals where it emphasize that the provision of water need to be sufficient, efficient, accessible, sustainable and affordable for all people in the world. The aim of this study was to investigate the ecological governance framework that support access to water and equitable access to water in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality. The methodology used was the quantitative approach and the data was collected using self-designed questionnaires. Stratified random sampling technique was used to sample 335 households and official respondents. The data was analysed through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Using the Chi-square statistical procedure and with 95% confidence, the decision rule for the hypothesis was stated as “accept the null hypothesis if the critical value (p-value) is < 0.05 and do not accept the null hypothesis if p-value is ˃ or = 0.05”. The findings show that ecological scale, decentralized approach to water, women participation in decision making and access to water are significantly associated with equity and human rights to potable water delivery among the population. Most women in the communities feel disempowered, marginalized and excluded from the process of decision making on water and sanitation. The Free Basic Water Policy is confronted with implementation challenges arising from the failure of the Municipality to provide the community with improved and equitable access to water and sanitation services. The study concludes that water is a basic human right and backbone to the economy of the Alfred Duma Local Municipality. Therefore, it is crucial for local communities to be involved in decision making process and their local experiences to be considered in equitable access to water supply. This must be done through the empowerment and recognition of the rights of women in decision making process. Women inclusion in water and sanitation delivery must be at the Centre of Municipality's water governance efforts as it ensures accountable governance and that the needs and interest of women are represented in a fair and transparent manner. The study recommends that the Municipality should develop strategies for effective water governance, promote decentralization, and encourage the participation of women in policies and decision making on water in order to improve the rights of the local people to have equal access to water within the Municipality.
Water, Sustainable Development Goal, Pollution, ecological governance framework, population growth
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