Thesis (M.A. (Agricultural Economics))--University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus), 2011. / The main aim of the study was to analyse the impact of improved water access for both domestic and productive uses on human development. The study was conducted in three villages in the Letsoalo-Sekororo community within the Mopani District Municipality in the Maruleng Local Municipality around the banks of the Olifants River in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study used a total sample of 59 participants representing 40 households, 16 key informants. Three focus group discussions were held. Various variables for the households were selected and analysed using logistic regression. The method of agreement was used for key informants as well as for focus group discussions. The results from the logistic regression indicated that household size and quantity of water consumed by an individual per household was found to be showing a positive relationship to improved water access. Cattle ownership and household’s monthly income were found to be showing a negative relationship to improved water access. The results also indicated that other people’s private yard taps are the water source which showed a negative relationship to improved water access. The variable food availability throughout the year, showed a positive relationship to improved water access. Water related disease showed a negative relationship to improved water access. The results of method of agreement indicated that there are many challenges faced by the key informants. These challenges were because of the poor water reticulations and the fact that other households were unable to make their connections due to lack of a money. vii The study recommends that the Department of Water Affairs and the Maruleng Local Municipality should continue their efforts of getting enough and safe water fir the Letsoalo- Sekororo communities. Once that is done these communities will be able to get involved in income generating activities. / French Embassy through the Centre for Rural Community Empowerment

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2008

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute of Governance and Policy Studies

MPM / Oliver Tambo Institute for Governance and Policy Studies

PhDRDV / Institute for Rural Development / Approximately, 780 million of people in the world lack access to safe water for domestic use. Out of these, 37 % are found in sub-Saharan Africa. Because of the negative impact of climate variability and change, scarcity of water is likely to continue worsening. Although semi-arid areas experience water shortages, they receive limited amounts of rainfall. Rainwater might help alleviate temporal water shortages. However, rainwater is rarely harvested for use when most needed. The PhD in Rural Development thesis research was carried out in Mabayeni village, which falls under Ward 35 of Collins Chabane Local Municipality in Limpopo Province of South Africa. It was designed to develop a grassroots community-informed prototype for a technology that could be used to harvest rainwater for domestic use. A series of interrelated studies with the following specific objectives underpinned the research: (1) To determine the extent of water scarcity; (2) To identify strategies households used to cope with inadequate availability of water for domestic use; (3) To document the rainwater harvesting techniques rural households used; (4) To compare the features of rainwater harvesting technology that people of different age groups preferred; (5) To develop community-preferred prototypes of rainwater harvesting technology with the best potential to increase access to water for domestic use; and (6) To evaluate the community-preferred prototypes of rainwater harvesting technology. Partly, the study was conducted as a follow-up to a Master’s research study on climate change carried out in 2014 in Mabayeni village. In the 2014 study, it was revealed that water scarcity was a major result of climate change in the area. In addition, Mabayeni was perceived as the driest compared to other villages in the ward. The Cresswell (2013) explanatory sequential mixed method design guided the study. Multi-stage sampling was followed to select respondents. This entailed categorizing respondents first dividing them by age and gender. Respondents were placed in the following clusters: children (boys and girls), youth (male and female), adult (men and women), and the elderly. This was done in order to ensure that there was triangulation of data sources. Various participatory research techniques were used to collect qualitative data for the same reason. For objective 1, data collection techniques such as photo voice, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, participatory mapping, transect walks, storytelling and seasonal diagramming were used. Data were analysed through card sorting, Atlas.ti version 7.5.7-mediated thematic content analysis, map ranking, matrix scoring and conversation analysis. Data collection techniques employed for objective 2 were similar to those used in objective 1 with the exception of participatory mapping. Thematic content analysis in Atlas.ti, map ranking and matrix ranking were used to analyse data for this objective. Only focus group discussions, key informant interviews and transect walks were used to collect data for objective 3. Data analysis techniques used were similar to those used in the previous objective with the exception of map ranking. For objective 4, data were collected through focus group discussions and analysed using matrix ranking and Atlas.ti-aided thematic content analysis. In objective 5, development of artefacts was guided by prototyping and sketch modelling techniques. Techniques such as verbal protocol analysis, mathematical calculations and presentation and analysis were used to analyse data. A questionnaire with open and closed ended questions was also used to collect data for the last objective. Open-ended questions were analysed using thematic content analysis. In addition, the Kruskal Wallis test in SPSS version 25 determined first, the two prototypes (one for zinc and another for thatch roof) that were regarded as the best; and second, if prototype component ratings significantly differed (p <0.05) across prototypes. As a post hoc test, the Dunn’s test in R Statistical Software version 3.3.0 was used for pairwise comparisons. Data saturation determined the sample size. A total of 17 community engagement sessions were held to collect, analyse and validate findings with the grassroots community members in Mabayeni village. Water scarcity in Mabayeni village was reconfirmed to be seasonal. The dry season in each year was five months long. During this time, residents adopted random, risky and unhygienic coping strategies. Although rainwater was collected from rooftops, there was no formal technology used to gather and store large quantities for later use. This was attributed to lack of resources and knowledge on how to develop such technologies. The most commonly preferred features of rainwater harvesting technology across interest groups related to water quality, construction materials and security. All interest groups preferred a technology that harvested clean/potable water. Moreover, the elderly wanted a technology that would help them access the stored water easily. In total, 14 prototypes were developed. When all the interest groups evaluated the prototypes, the ones that boys and men developed were selected as the best for zinc and thatched roofbased technologies, respectively. Selection of a prototype that children produced as the best underlined that children were an important resource that communities should never marginalise. Nor should their ability to contribute useful ideas be underestimated when seeking solutions to local challenges. Active involvement of grassroots community members in the entire design process helped tailor specifications of the technology to user needs, thereby highlighting the importance of inclusive decision making in development practice. This was also important because it created ownership and increased chances of adopting the technology. Lastly, the current study reaffirmed the view that postgraduate degree research can be harnessed to coproduce solutions to community-identified challenges. / NRF

Thesis (MPA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / This study is about an investigation into the provisioning of water and sanitation services in Ga-Kgapane Township in the Limpopo Province. Since the year 2002, the residents of Ga-Kgapane Township live without sufficient water supply services. Residents receive tap water once a week and they depend on supply from water tankers for the rest of the week. This township has a water borne sewage system and most of the households have indoor toilets. The study used a mixed method because it had incorporated both elements of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in its approaches. The research instruments such as semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, documentary data extraction and observations were used to collect information. The study’s sample size comprised of 77 key participants and informants from Mopani District Municipality (Water Services Authority); Lepelle-Northern Water Board (implementing agency and bulk water supplier); Greater Letaba Municipality (Water Service Provider); Ward Councillors and community members (endusers). The research findings revealed that Ga-Kgapane Township’s water and sanitation provision challenges are due to insufficient or lack of water, poor water management and poor governance. It was also discovered that the MDM and GLM have failed to translate the rights to water and sanitation into law, policy, budget and service provision for the Ga-Kgapane Township residents. The insufficient water supply challenge resulted in some community members migrating to other areas where there is better basic service provision. The residents failed to exploit the economic development opportunities which resulted in health risks as they were exposed to danger due to burst sewer pipes which spewed raw sewerage water on the streets. The sewage contaminated the township’s natural streams. This study’s findings could form a basis for future research on the effectiveness of the MDM’s Water Services Provision Agreement which was signed with the district’s local municipalities. The Mopani District Municipality has for many years v received undesired audit opinions ranging from ‘Adverse to Disclaimer’ notices. This affects the local municipalities too as they are all qualified-on water transactions. As part of the recommendations, the study proposed that the Greater Letaba Municipality should utilise the Intergovernmental Relations Forum to address the plight of the provision of water and sanitation services in Ga-Kgapane Township.

Thesis (MBA.) -- University of Limpopo, 2007 / The residents of Lebowakgomo in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality experience numerous inequalities in relation to water services provision. Some of the residents protest towards the inequalities through refusal to pay for the water services. The confrontational non paying residents field questions which the municipality can hardly answer. The problem of refusal to pay is of the magnitude that recently the municipality had to go house-to-house pleading with the inhabitants to pay if the municipality was to continue to provide water services. The specific objectives of this study were three-fold: (1) to determine water service quality using residents’ perceptions on water services in Lebowakgomo, (2) to determine residents’ expectations and perceptions on water services in Lebowakgomo, and (3) to determine the residents’ perceptions on water service quality and customer satisfaction in Lebowakgomo using age, gender, qualification and suburb. A questionnaire comprising five dimensions, namely, tangibles, reliability, assurance, empathy and responsiveness, was compiled to collect data from three suburbs of Lebowakgomo in Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. The original sample size was 120, with 9 becoming spoiled due to missing data. The independent variables comprised age, qualification, suburb and gender. Most of the data were analysed for kurtosis and skewness and with the exception of one variable, the rest of the data did not conform to parametric analysis criteria. The major findings of this study indicated overall negative perceptions of residents’ on four dimensions of empathy, reliability, responsiveness and assurance on water service quality which implied that the residents were dissatisfied with the service and called on management to use SERVQUAL as a valid model of assessment to identify areas requiring immediate attention for service improvement. On the other contra positive it was revealed that the municipality was doing well on the tangibles dimension. ix The study recommended use of SERVQUAL in measuring quality of other services within the constitutional competencies of the municipality and further research to investigate age contribution to service quality.

PhDRDV / Institute for Rural Development / Potable water supply is a fundamental human right and protected by international conventions and national laws. Access to it and having in place an appropriate water supply system remain the building blocks to improving and maintaining the welfare of any community for it to enjoy a healthy and productive life. The supply of potable water, especially in Africa's rural areas, however, remains a challenge. The demand for a system to provide sustainable water supply has been on the increase due to population growth and the climate change phenomenon. Vhembe District Municipality (VDM), as the responsible authority for water supply in sections of the Limpopo Province, faces many challenges, including - aging water supply infrastructure, lack of capacity of officials, and lack of funds for maintenance; these often lead to a breakdown of the supply system. This challenge results, for example, in increased health hazards that often cause tension between the District and the residents. The study’s main objective was to investigate the water supply system in Vhembe so as to suggest an effective intervention strategy for potable rural water supply system to improve the supply in the Vhembe District Municipality of the Limpopo Province. The specific objectives were - to determine the current potable water supply sources in rural communities of the VDM, examine the system’s ability to meet the needs of the rural communities in VDM and to identify the challenges and coping strategies used to meet potable water supply in VDM. A mixed-method, of both qualitative and quantitative research designs and techniques, was adopted and focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to gather data. From the four local municipalities of VDM, 14 wards were purposively selected through proportional representation of 448 households, which were randomly selected. Three municipal officials responsible for the water supply system in the VDM were selected through census. Key-informant discussions were held with councillors from the 14 wards, with focus group discussions used to engage the 448 households, and traditional leaders. Thematic content analysis was used to identify common themes, ideas, and patterns of meaning that came up frequently from qualitative data. The IBM Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 25 was used to analyse data using descriptive statistics, one way ANOVA and Chi-Square test.The results revealed that in Vhembe District Municipality, the primary sources of water were boreholes (45.3%) followed by piped water from the dams (35.3%). The majority of the households (53.6%) obtain water from boreholes once per week, with 4% resorting to obtaining water from rivers, 5.4% obtained water from fountains and 10% obtained their water from Municipality water tankers (truck tankers). These results indicate that the District continues to face challeges in its efforts to fulfill its mandate as the responsible authority for water supply, in the rural communities due to lack of a sustainable system to supply the required minimum water needs for households. The study recommended that all stakeholders should join hands to invest in a system that has more water supply options to sustainably meet the needs of the growing population. The system should have management ii structures relevant for villages, as critical pillars to assist - with the management system, address minor maintenance requirements, and monitor and report any water supply system-related issues. It was also suggested that rural communities be encouraged to pay for water supply services, for the system's sustainability and that the system in VDM would be improved when stakeholders (communities, government, and NGOs) come together. / NRF

Thesis (MSc. (Chemistry)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / Surface water from the rivers serves as a source of water for many purposes including drinking, irrigation and animal farming. The quality of surface water deteriorates due to human, animals and industrial waste. Amongst these wastes, selenium and other trace elements contaminants are included. Selenium can either be essential or toxic depending on the concentration and oxidation state. The aim of this current study was to determine the concentrations of inorganic selenium [Se(IV) and Se(VI)] in water and sediment samples collected from Blood and Mokolo Rivers in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Water and sediment samples were collected from 10 different sampling sites from down to upstream of each river. Water samples were acidified with 1% ultra-pure HNO3 and analysed directly for total selenium concentration. The accuracy of the method was validated using SRM1643f (trace elements in water reference material). Sediment samples were digested using microwave assisted acid digestion for the determination of total concentration of selenium. The accuracy of the method was evaluated using SRM 8704 (sediment standard reference material). Total concentration of selenium in both water and sediment samples were quantified using ICP-MS. The total concentration of selenium in water samples from Blood and Mokolo River were found to be in the range of 0.0682 to 2.72 μg/L and 0.0851 to 25.4 μg/L respectively. The selenium concentrations in all sediment samples were found to be below instrument detection limit of 0.0571 ng/g in both rivers. An adopted SPE method using Dowex 1 x 2 resin (chloride form) as an adsorbent material to preconcentrate and separate Se(IV) and Se(VI) was used for the speciation in water samples. Both Se(IV) and Se(VI) were retained on the column. The retained Se(IV) and Se(VI) were eluted using 15 mL 1 M HNO3 and 3 M HNO3 respectively at a flow rate of 2 ml/min and diluted to the final volume of 20 mL. The instrument detection limit was 0.192 μg/L and 0.108 μg/L for Se(IV) and Se(VI) respectively. The validation of the method was performed by using SRM 1643f and solutions of known concentrations. The water samples were adjusted to an optimum pH of 6 throughout the speciation analysis. The Se(IV) had higher percentage recoveries of 95 – 114% than Se(VI) with 53%. vi Concentrations of Se(IV) and Se(VI) in Blood River ranged from 0.0411 to 0.820 μg/L and 0.0811 to 1.75 μg/L respectively. Concentrations of Se(IV) and Se(VI) in Mokolo River ranged from 0.135 to 2.79 μg/L and 0.0961 to 14.8 μg/L respectively. The inorganic selenium species in water samples were also determined by using the adopted online mode of HPLC-ICP-MS with Hamilton PRP-X100 column. The separation of the two species was achieved by using isocratic elution of 100 mM NH4NO3 at pH 8.5 in 8 min. The method was successfully validated using SRM 1643f. The LOD of 0.842 μg/L and LOQ of 2.81 μg/L for Se(IV) were achieved. The LOD of 0.690 μg/L and LOQ of 2.30 μg/L for Se(VI) were achieved. The Se(IV) and Se(VI) concentrations determined using HPLC-ICP-MS were found to be in good agreement with Se(IV) and Se(VI) concentrations obtained using SPE in both rivers. The presence of Se(IV) and Se(VI) in water samples in Blood and Mokolo Rivers indicates that industrial and agricultural activities taking place near the rivers have an effect on the quality of the water. The selenium in water may be due to wastes from industrial, municipal and agricultural runoffs. The absence of selenium in sediment samples suggests that the area where the rivers are located is not rich in selenium.

Thesis (Ph.D.(Public Administration)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / South Africa is a country experiencing water scarcity, and the provision of water as well as sanitation is a basic need and a right that must be provided to the populace by the municipalities. The water must either be subsidised by the government through the Municipal Infrastructure Grant or financed through the municipality ’s resources. The Capricorn District Municipality is composed of the Polokwane, Molemole, Lepelle Nkumpi, and Blouberg local Municipalities. Amongst all these municipalities, there is high rural domination and the inability to provide water daily in most jurisdictional areas. In achieving the objectives and addressing factors that impact negatively on sustainable supply of water and effective sanitation within Capricorn District Municipality the study adopted, the theory of rising expectations, the philosophy of servant leadership, the public choice theory, the district’s development plan, the rational model of reasoning and the participatory research paradigm because the study addresses the societal issues that affect mostly marginalised groups. The study used a mixed method research methodology that is dominated by the qualitative method. Quantitative method is used to justify availability of water and sanitation to the Capricorn District’s civilians while the qualitative method was used to investigate the cause and effect of the non-provision of sustainable water as well as sanitation. The study established that there are some hindrances that were found in the focus area (Capricorn District Municipality) because of; illicit activities, poor infrastructural maintenance, and the need to establish an enabling environment by the politicians as well as the officials with no interference in the running of the administrative affairs