Water Wheel Nov/Dec 2020: Upfront

Abstract

Municipalities as the theatre of change The municipal level challenges in South Africa are well known. Implementation challenges, financial sustainability, social delivery protests and, more recently, impropriety scandals have become commonplace in the media and the public discourse. Add to this the stark challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the promise of a ‘better life for all’ seems under the most severe threat. As we expand outwards to the national and continental level, the accumulative negative effect is plain to see. The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) progress reports indicate that for Africa, and even better resourced South Africa by comparison, the development and delivery of water and sanitation solutions are not happening at the pace that will guarantee universal access to clean water and safe sanitation sustainably by 2030. This, unfortunately, is in line with the current global trends.

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