Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This study examines the problems of implementing water allocation policy in the context of the
local state bureaucracy as well as the specific experiences of local black emerging farmers in the
Breede Gouritz Water Management Area. This study used qualitative research methods and is
based on many hours of interviews and observing bureaucrats and stakeholders at the receiving
end of the bureaucratic business process of water allocation. It is not only concerned with the
physical and technical aspects of access but explores how the different role players interact,
navigate, shape, frame and manage challenges to gain access to and control water for productive
use. The actual experiences and understandings of the stakeholders in their own contexts when
engaging with the access to water are crucial to gain a comprehensive understanding and insight
into the influence of bureaucracy and power relations. This thesis therefore maps the confusions
and incapacities and shows that even though the South African laws are based on the best
international frameworks, they fail, as they do not sufficiently address the unique environment and
landscape. Existing scholarship has not adequately researched local bureaucratic power. At the
coalface of implementation, bureaucrats make up their own rules to cope with rapid policy
churning. Combined with existing power relations, policy implementation and policy direction is
steered towards different and unintended trajectories, making transformation a challenge to
achieve. Consequently, my main finding is that there have been constant and rapid legislative and
policy changes but they have simply added to the confusion and instability.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uwc/oai:etd.uwc.ac.za:11394/7394 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Williams, Sandra Elizabeth |
| Contributors | Ruiters, Gregory |
| Publisher | University of the Western Cape |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | University of the Western Cape |
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