Analysing the effectiveness of a water services authority: the case of Modimolle-Mookgopong local municipality.

Abstract

This study analyses the effectiveness of a Water Services Authority (WSA) in delivering its water supply mandate. Based on an investigation of the phenomenon of water supply, the study employed a qualitative design to understand the context of how effective the Modimolle-Mookgopong Local Municipality (MMLM) is in delivering water to its community members. Using primary and secondary literature, it was established that MMLM is faced with several service delivery challenges related to delivering water. Although the local government has the primary constitutional obligation to deliver basic services such as water provisioning, the national and provincial governments must play a significant role in supporting the municipalities such as MMLM to fulfill their service delivery obligations. However, according to the study findings, most of the challenges that the MMLM is facing are not linked to the water service authority per se, rather they are more community based and require interventions at a community level. Challenges such as theft, vandalism, pollution, population growth, and illegal connections. It appears there is a need for community mobilisation programmes in MMLM to deal with such problems that are not directly linked to the water service authority.