Abstract
This dissertation focuses on the sustainability of the South African Government’s privatisation policy, and to which extent it is able to facilitate access to water and sanitation for all the citizens. After the demise of apartheid in 1994, the new African National Congress-led National Government inherited a country characterised by deepseated inequalities in the provision of basic services to citizens. During the colonial and apartheid eras, water policies focused on safeguarding the needs of a select few (mostly the White population). Unlike the old dispensation, the democratic Government viewed access to vital resources as a human rights issue. As such, it sought to improve access to, and the distribution, of crucial resources like water to all citizens – irrespective of gender, religion, race or class. In the water sector, the Water Policy, 1998, was enacted to help address the inequalities of the past. Great strides were made between 1996 and 2011. However, it became evident that the Government was unable to provide budgetary requirements for water infrastructure and provision. As providing access to water was a constitutional provision, the Government rather considered privatisation within the water sector. The dissertation will involve a conceptual and contextual analysis of primary and secondary resources by way of a literature study. It also encompasses certain unobtrusive research methods as the main approach to conduct the research. The study found that it is evident that the State does not have the capacity to ensure that all citizens have continuous access to water. To ensure national coverage, capital investment is needed to build and maintain water infrastructure. However, it is also evident that the Government is unable to provide budgetary requirements for water infrastructure and provision.
M.A. (Public Management and Governance)