Abstract
M.Ed.
The Sinthumule/Kutama water project in the Northern Province was initiated as one
of the RDP Presidential Lead Projects with an approved budget of R4 7, 75m. The
Presidential Lead Projects were those projects which were funded by an emergency
fund channelled by the former president Nelson Mandela through the RDP to
address the problem of shortage of water as well as the associated diseases which
were prevalent in the Sinthumule/ Kutama area early in 1995. The main objective
was to provide 25 litres of water for each person per day, within a distance of not
more than 200 metres from their homes. Residents had to pay 8c for 20 litres of
water through a pre-paid system. But more importantly, as an RDP project, the aim
was to educate, train and build the capacity of the targeted communities thereby
bringing about community upliftment. However, the project collapsed. Communities
destroyed water meters and made illegal connections in 18 villages.
The reported failure of the Sinthumule/Kutama water project raised serious questions
inter alia:
);> was there an effective education, training and capacity building strategy
and programme for Sinthumule/Kutama?
);> if there was, how was it executed?
Roge(s (1996) view on development which emphasises the central role of education
in development formed the theoretical framework of the research. Against the
preceding background the aim of the study was to investigate whether education and
training of adults played a significant role in the Sinthumule/Kutama development
project. A case study approach was employed to establish the role of adult
education in the success or failure of the project. Purposive sampling was utilised to
select a sample. Interviews were carried out and various founding documents were
analysed to collect data.