Water infrastructure installation and maintenance challenges : perceptions of division managers and contractors

Abstract

The objectives of this paper were to identify the challenges experienced by the municipality of the City of Tshwane, South Africa, during and after the installation of water infrastructure, to explore the root causes of the identified challenges, and to rank their importance. The research strategy is exploratory and qualitative, applying purposive sampling to collect data via twenty semi-structured interviews with City of Tshwane water and sanitation division managers and staff, and from two focus groups from the water division contractors; one comprising seven managers and the other seven employees from these contractors. The collected data were analysed through NVivo, Excel graphs, and tables. The findings revealed that the City of Tshwane faces multiple challenges with regard to the sustainability of their water infrastructure, including old and dilapidated water infrastructure, political interference, community interference, lack of management intervention and technical skills, poor communication, poor record keeping, inadequate project management, staff shortages, tender nepotism, violation of service level agreements, poor security, vandalism, and corruption. In summary, the study showed a lack of project management and communication, especially inadequate planning and control policies and systems, which threaten the long-term sustainability of the City of Tshwane. Recommendations for improving the installation and maintenance procedures are provided.