Abstract
Since 1996, the South African government has undertaken a considerable project to fulfil the proclaimed right of citizens to access sufficient water and sanitation (Government of South Africa, 1996) through traditional water management and water governance. However, democracy has not yet provided significant improvements to informal dwellers. Doornkop (Soweto) is a clear example of a community fighting for its rights to access clean water and adequate wastewater sanitation systems. Beyond traditional water management and social and environmental water governance, an ethical view of managing water policies through principles of “human dignity” and “human equality” has arisen in order to provide basic water services. Equal opportunities to manage water are provided, analysing the impact of the principles of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) upon South African informal communities through the implementation of human water governance. The objectives of the study ascertain if those two principles are relevant to improve the community’s living conditions as well as to positively affect the “Principles of water governance” and the “Water principles”. With this aim, a case study was set up at Doornkop (Soweto), in which 416 informal dwellers among a relocated group, a tenure group and a squatter group were tested through the Smart PLS method. Results showed that water services can be highly improved through human water management, a model that can be applied to other underdeveloped areas in the world.
Highlights
The global share of the African urban population is expected to rise from 11.3% in 2010 up to 20.2% in 2050, making African cities the second fastest growing cities in the world after Asian cities [1,2]
From the 416 informal dwellers interviewed, 41% were supported by a partner or relatives, 40% supported themselves by casual labour and 19% were supported through a pension scheme from the government
The conclusions from this research apply to academics but more importantly to practitioners and decision-makers working at impoverished settlements as is the case in this study, Doornkop
Summary
The global share of the African urban population is expected to rise from 11.3% in 2010 up to 20.2% in 2050, making African cities the second fastest growing cities in the world after Asian cities [1,2]. At the beginning of the democratic period in 1994, the country had to grapple with the legacy of colonial and apartheid racial discrimination policy regimes. These sought to justify the racial deprivation of the black majority to equal access to equitable opportunities, education, housing, human dignity, water and sanitation. Those inequalities began once black communities were forced to relocate from well-located urban land to marginal areas on the periphery [4]
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