There has been an on-going debate regarding the effectiveness and capacity of Water Service Authorities in providing quality water service in South Africa to local citizens. As Limpopo province was preferred as a case study, it is evident that the province has been experiencing several violent water service delivery protests in different localities. The methodological approach employed was a qualitative approach reinforced by documentary review as a data source in qualitative research. Purposively, 46 participants were sampled and interviewed. In addition, document analysis of literatures and audit performance of Water Service Authorities in Limpopo province were exploited. The employed data regression investigation to scrutinize the data, containing the Auditor- General of South Africa’s (AGSA) amalgamated annual report for municipal for the fiscal years 2009/10 to 2015/16. It gave observable elements which were subjected to regression analysis. The findings show that quality of governance significantly affects the achievement of a clean audit at a significance value which translates into poor service delivery to citizens. In reviewing the existing documents, a better understanding was realised which assisted in formulating questions for interviews or develop an observation guide. The challenges confronting the water service authorities are not limited to inadequate administrative capacity to function and manage finances, lack of skilled technicians, service delivery backlogs; aging of water infrastructure and lack of infrastructure maintenance. These findings underscored a need for Water Service Authorities to assess continuously the level of contentment to their beneficiaries concerning the basic provision of water and sanitation services.
Water Services Authorities Capacity in Providing Access to Water and Sanitation in Limpopo Province, South Africa
