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

Nastar, Maryam LU and Ramasar, Vasna LU (2012) In Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 4. p.7-24
Abstract
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... (More)
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. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
South Africa, power analysis, social mobilization, transition heuristic, water governance
in
Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions
volume
4
pages
7 - 24
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:84867742463
ISSN
2210-4224
DOI
10.1016/j.eist.2012.05.001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
cab59648-4a1e-41e7-bc02-21f28fe9a3eb (old id 4377986)
alternative location
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210422412000196
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 10:36:21
date last changed
2022-02-17 19:37:00
@article{cab59648-4a1e-41e7-bc02-21f28fe9a3eb,
  abstract     = {{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.}},
  author       = {{Nastar, Maryam and Ramasar, Vasna}},
  issn         = {{2210-4224}},
  keywords     = {{South Africa; power analysis; social mobilization; transition heuristic; water governance}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{7--24}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions}},
  title        = {{Transition in South African water governance : insights from a perspective on power}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2012.05.001}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.eist.2012.05.001}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}