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Vasna2023

Vasna Ramasar

Senior lecturer

Vasna2023

Transition in South African water governance : insights from a perspective on power

Author

  • Maryam Nastar
  • Vasna Ramasar

Summary, in English

After apartheid, South Africa has stepped up to the challenge of reforming an inequitable water service delivery system to meet the needs of all citizens. We frame this systematic societal change as a transition in water governance. We argue that when evaluating this pathway of transition, we should not only look at the changes in water legislation and number with improved access, but also analyze the quality of the water service delivery in terms of different payment schemes, participation by local citizens and conflicts around equality of water provision. By analyzing power in transition studies, we explore the power dynamics at play in two regions of Johannesburg, namely Alexandra and Soweto. The paper highlights the need to explicate the politics of water service delivery and suggests opportunities to break the negative patterns in order to achieve equitable and sustainable water service delivery in South Africa.

Department/s

  • LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)

Publishing year

2012

Language

English

Pages

7-24

Publication/Series

Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions

Volume

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Social Sciences Interdisciplinary

Keywords

  • South Africa
  • power analysis
  • social mobilization
  • transition heuristic
  • water governance

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2210-4224