Analysing Metropolitan Municipal Water Services Delivery Performance in South Africa: A Comparative Assessment of Household Access, Water Quality, and Households’ Satisfaction
Main Article Content
Keywords
Water Quality, Households, Metropolitan Municipalities, Water Service Delivery, Public Value
Abstract
This paper investigates the water service delivery performance of metropolitan municipalities in South Africa between 2022 and 2024. This enables an adequate understanding of the prevailing conditions of water service delivery in the metros and thus forms the basis for service enhancement intervention. Using a conceptual framework that combined principal-agent, equity, and public value theories, this study analyses a combination of secondary quantitative data on water service delivery performance across metropolitan municipalities in South Africa. The data was sourced from various government databases to pursue the study objectives of exploring water access, water quality, and households’ water service satisfaction. The findings revealed a significant disparity in the performance of the metros in water service delivery. While the City of Cape Town and Ekurhuleni demonstrated consistent water service excellence, Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay, and Mangaung struggled with incessant water interruptions and declining water safety. Despite the robust water infrastructure status as reported in WIQI, systemic challenges, such as leaking water pipes and institutional inefficiency, undermine reliable water service delivery among metros in South Africa. This paper thus concludes that for South Africa to effec-tively address the persistent water service delivery challenges confronting it and efficiently achieve SDG 6 by 2030, there is the need for crucial investment in water management technology, establish water service delivery taskforce across metros, invest in wastewater treatment technologies, establish a national water management training institute to regular provide trainings to metro staff. Lastly, inter-metro best practices sharing must be entrenched, while a public database with updated water performance data must be made available to support water research. These recommendations emphasise inter-metro collaboration, techno-logical integration, and policy reforms to address systemic gaps and enhance public satisfaction with water service delivery.
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References
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Jul 31, 2025
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Analysing Metropolitan Municipal Water Services Delivery Performance in South Africa: A Comparative Assessment of Household Access, Water Quality, and Households’ Satisfaction. (2025). Journal of Digital Food, Energy & Water Systems, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.36615/785d4c68
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Author Biographies
Dr. Abdulrasaq Ajadi Ishola, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Dr. Abdulrasaq Ajadi Ishola is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Dr. Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura, Department of Public Administration and Management, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Free States, Republic of South Africa
Dr. Tafadzwa Clementine Maramura is a NRF rated researcher and a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Public Administration and Management, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, University of the Free States, Republic of South Africa
Prof Trynos Gumbo, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Professor Trynos Gumbo is a erudite scholar, a NRF rated researcher and Head of School of Civil Engineering and the Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, John Orr Building, Beit Street, University of Johannesburg, South Africa, Ph: +27 11559 6318; Cel: +27 78 226 1507
How to Cite
Analysing Metropolitan Municipal Water Services Delivery Performance in South Africa: A Comparative Assessment of Household Access, Water Quality, and Households’ Satisfaction. (2025). Journal of Digital Food, Energy & Water Systems, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.36615/785d4c68
