Spatial planning strategies for improving household water service delivery in Schulzendal Village of Nkomazi Local Municipality, South Africa

Abstract

Household water provision is a local government mandate worldwide. Water service provision is mostly linked to the health of communities. However, in most developing nations, water service delivery is hindered by organisation, governance, financial constraints, and capacity challenges, which are worsened by urbanisation. These are particularly pronounced in rural areas like Schulzendal Village of Nkomazi Local Municipality, South Africa, where household water service delivery remains a persistent problem. The study aim was to investigate spatial planning strategies for improving household water service delivery in Schulzendal Village of Nkomazi Local Municipality. The objectives of the study were to ascertain the condition of household water service delivery in Schulzendal Village of Nkomazi Local Municipality; to determine the challenges faced by Nkomazi Local Municipality in the delivery of household water services to Schulzendal Village and to propose spatial planning strategies for improving household water service delivery. The study was also informed by the Public Goods theory, Central Place Theory and the Principal Agent Theory. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed in this study. Purposive sampling was used to select key informants, including 2 traditional leaders and 5 municipal officials. A convenience sampling method was applied to distribute 253 household questionnaires. Additionally, snowball sampling helped identify respondents that were hard to reach, while participatory observation was conducted to complement the data and gain insights into the community’s household water access experiences. The study revealed that residents of Schulzendal Village are highly unhappy with the condition of water service delivery. Most of the respondents complained of poor infrastructure, poor quality of water and even water supply chain which has a drastic impact on their lives. Challenges of land tenure issues, dilapidated infrastructure, limited municipal funding, corruption, political interference among others were identified as the key challenges faced by Nkomazi Local municipality in the delivery of household water to Schulzendal Village. The study proposed active community engagement in planning and decision-making processes, the development of strategic infrastructure, and the integration of water management priorities into urban planning frameworks among other key approaches as spatial planning strategies for improving water service delivery to Schulzendal village.