Abstract
Infrastructure development is desirable and essential for communities as it supports economic growth and social development goals. While infrastructure development is admittedly crucial, its construction comes with consequences that affect the ways in which people maintain their households. The proposal to develop infrastructure was warmly welcomed by the community of Palmridge residing in informal settlements and they were looking forward to it, until the constructions began to worsen their means of survival. The current study assessed how the impacts of the Motheo infrastructure development project affect the livelihoods of the community of Palmridge. A qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews to capture the experiences of the heads of households. The study utilised the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) to create an understanding of the activities’ assets and entitlements of participants, how these have been affected by the developments of infrastructure and what adaptive strategies do people employ to adjust to the changes. Although there are some elements of positive impacts, especially in terms of physical structures such as serviced stands, tar roads and the brick houses that are underway, the overall findings show that people’s access to resources necessary for livelihoods, has been negatively impacted. These resources include transport, which was said to be scarce and expensive such that people resort to walking long distances to different destinations. On the other hand, walking long distances was reported to be a challenge especially for women and children, the elderly and people with disabilities. The community reported loss of contact with their former networks which were crucial towards support of their livelihoods, while the processes of establishing trusting relationships with the new neighbours renders them helpless in times of need. The loss of grown gardens and unavailability of tap water in other stands has compromised food security for other households and affect their financial resources. The study also found that the new area does not support some of the community’s previous economic activities, thus worsening the living standards of the affected households. The analysis of impacts on the basis of gender has also shown that women were more vulnerable compared to their male counterparts. The study revealed that the lack of effort invested in preserving the livelihoods of households during the processes of developing infrastructure, has resulted in many people being unable to re-establish their ways to maintain themselves in the new area. It emerges clearly that the necessity of service delivery cannot substitute the importance of protecting the livelihoods of the affected populations. The study concludes that, if interventions are to be successful in communities, development authorities must prioritise genuine inclusion of the local community. Public participation should be used as a platform where the affected population can give input and influence decisions. It also suggests that follow up studies are critical in every development project to ensure that impacts that surface beyond the projection phase are addressed.
M.A. (Social Impact Assessment)