Golder Associates Africa (Pty) Ltd Reg. No.

2002/007104/07

DURBAN Cluster Box 29391, Maytime KwaZulu Natal, South Africa Block C, Bellevue Campus 5 Bellevue Rd, Kloof Tel + (27) (0)31 717 2790 Fax + (27) (0)31 717 2791 http://www.golder.com

REPORT ON

Social Vulnerability of Amaoti

Report No : 10612

Submitted to: eThekwini Municipality

DISTRIBUTION: 2 Copies 1 Copy eThekwini Municipality Golder Associates Africa (Pty) Ltd Library 10612

January 2009

Directors : FR Sutherland, AM van Niekerk, SAP Brown, T Greyling, S Manyaka LOCAL OFFICES IN DURBAN, JOHANNESBURG, PIETERMARITZBURG AND PRETORIA GOLDER COMPANIES LOCATED IN AFRICA, ASIA, AUSTRALASIA, EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA, SOUTH AMERICA

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TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1 2 3 4 PAGE

INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 4 PERCEPTIONS ON AMAOTI ................................................................... 6 SOCIAL VULNERABILITY FRAMEWORK ............................................... 7 SITUATION ANALYSIS............................................................................. 9
Historical Background ......................................................................... 9 Demographics ..................................................................................... 9 4.2.1 Population size ...................................................................... 9 4.2.2 Nature of Houses .................................................................. 9 4.2.3 Sanitation .............................................................................. 9 4.2.4 Employment and Household Income .................................... 9 4.2.5 Healthcare ............................................................................. 9 4.3 Summary of analysis........................................................................... 9 INFRASTRUCTURAL NEEDS .................................................................. 9 5.1 Roads.................................................................................................. 9 5.2 Sanitation and Waste Management .................................................... 9 WATER ISSUES........................................................................................ 9 WAY FORWARD....................................................................................... 9 REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 9 4.1 4.2

5 6 7 8

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TABLES
Table 1: Population breakdown of Amaoti ....................................................................................9 Table 2: Nature of houses in various communities........................................................................9 Table 3: Household access to sanitation ........................................................................................9 Table 4: Employment breakdown ..................................................................................................9 Table 5: Indication of savings schemes engaged ...........................................................................9 Table 6: Summary of statistics for Amaoti ....................................................................................9

FIGURES
Figure 1: Locality map of eThekwini Municipality, South Africa ................................................5 Figure 2: Social Vulnerability Model ............................................................................................8 Figure 3: Population density within eThekwini .............................................................................9 Figure 4: Owner/Tenant Ratio .......................................................................................................9 Figure 5: Ward vulnerability of informal housing within eThekwini............................................9 Figure 6: Households with no electricity within eThekwini..........................................................9 Figure 7: Ward indication of households with non-flush toilets within eThekwini.......................9 Figure 8: Percentage of households with access to toilet sanitation ..............................................9 Figure 9: Low income distribution (less than R800/month) in eThekwini ....................................9 Figure 10: Percentage of government grants received...................................................................9 Figure 11: Indication of education level below Grade 7 across eThekwini...................................9 Figure 12: Location of Educational Institutions ............................................................................9 Figure 13: Location of hospitals and clinics within eThekwini.....................................................9

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INTRODUCTION

The Advancing Capacity to support Climate Change Adaptation (ACCCA) project brings stakeholders and scientific communities of the developing world together to enable and support effective adaptation decisions to reduce vulnerability to climate change. The ACCCA project draws on lessons learned about communicating climate risk information in clear terms that are relevant to decision-makers; addressing climate risks and adaptation in an integrated, multidisciplinary way; emphasizing the importance of engaging stakeholders substantively; and highlighting the long-term benefits of partnering institutions from scientific and policy communities for understanding and managing climate change risks. ACCCA is now supporting 19 pilot actions in 17 countries across Africa and Asia, and aims to achieve the following objectives: Identify and prioritize climate risks to stakeholders and the climate influenced decisions that they face; Assess available knowledge about risks and adaptation opportunities, as well as synthesize the knowledge in terms that are directly relevant to stakeholder concerns and decision-making needs; Develop, test and disseminate risk communication materials that are designed to assist adaptation decisions; Use the risk communication materials in stakeholder forums to develop recommendations for climate change adaptation and promote their adoption; and Identify critical knowledge gaps that impede effective adaptation decisions and design assessment activities that would generate new knowledge to fill them.

One pilot project is currently underway in Durban, South Africa, where the eThekwini Municipality has commissioned Golder Associates to meet these objectives. The eThekwini Municipality is located within the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, as indicated in Figure 1. Durban experiences a humid sub-tropical climate, and is especially vulnerable to the impacts of rapidly changing climate dynamics, such as: Increases in vector borne diseases (such as malaria and cholera); Increased heat stress; Increases in the frequency and intensity of floods and droughts; Changes in the complexity and geographical distribution of plants and animals leading to biodiversity loss; Increased infrastructure damage due to extreme weather events with the linked threats to human safety and well-being and increased insurance costs; Increased economic losses due to property damage and decreases in tourism revenue;

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Increased erosion of coastal areas leading to loss of spaces for habitation, productive activities and urban agriculture putting pressure on other land resources Decreased food security; Increasing water scarcity due to a changed rainfall pattern: and Higher energy consumption through, for example, the increased use of air conditioners.

Figure 1: Locality map of eThekwini Municipality, South Africa While these impacts apply to the entire municipal area, impoverished peri-urban communities, living in informal settlements are especially at risk since more people are killed due to natural disasters where human development is low. These communities are especially vulnerable to: increased frequency and intensity of short duration heavy rains with no net increase in average annual rainfall. In this regard, the following impacts can be expected: Affected ability of dams to store and capture water for human consumption and industrial use, due to increased sediment loads being carried in by flood events; Changes in demand, supply and quality of water; Local flooding, storm water overflow with ground and surface water pollution; Stress on sewage systems; and Increases in landslides and mudslides.

In an attempt to address this vulnerability, the first task of the Advancing Capacity to support Climate Change Adaptation (ACCCA) project is to conduct risk and vulnerability mapping of the informal

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settlements located within the eThekwini Municipality with the aim of identifying those communities that are most vulnerable. In the process, indices of vulnerability will be identified and which could be applied to similar cities around the world. In order to assess how climate change might impact certain livelihood groups, it is necessary to establish the degree and range of exposures of these groups to risks associated with climate change. By ranking these risks according to their level of impact both from an environmental and social perspective - one is able to prioritise the key climate hazard(s) to address. This information can then be used to plan adaptation options, by responding to the projected climate trends, whilst accounting for the degree of uncertainty associated with these projections. This report explains the social vulnerability assessment that was undertaken of the informal settlements in the eThekwini Municipality. It explains the social vulnerability framework that was developed to find indicators of vulnerability, based on past experiences with similar assessments and current research, and further explains how this framework was applied to Amaoti, the largest informal settlement in eThekwini, to determine its vulnerability status.

PERCEPTIONS ON AMAOTI

The following comments were made about Amaoti by Sandile Mbatha and Nhlanhla Ngema, research assistants for Zoe Wilson (2008), while conducting a study to determine the community satisfaction of ground tank services that were supplied by the eThekwini Municipality.
The Amaoti community is an impoverished and very diverse community. Its fabric consists of people from various ethnic groups. Zulus form the majority of the population of the area while Xhosas are a sizeable minority. Foreign nationals and coloureds form a tiny minority. The majority of the people in this area work in neighbouring suburban areas as domestic workers, factory labourers and shopkeepers and construction labourers. Very few, if any, have professional employment. A vast portion of the community is unemployed. The area is very culturally diverse. This is mainly because people come from different parts of the country and they bring with them their own cultures into the area. As a result there is no defined community culture. Each family maintains its culture and tradition inherited from its rural background. Household practices are informed by this dynamic and unique to each family. However, like most African communities, this community shares a common Africa culture which maintains that community fabric. As a survival strategy people have small businesses such as tuck shops and small scale brick construction companies. The businesses are strictly used as family survival tools and not profit maximization. Some families divide their houses into cottages for income generation. the area has poor housing people are still living in shacks since there is not yet any housing development that has been introduced. There is only a single main road going into the area but no road networks branching into all parts of Amaoti. Therefore this makes it difficult for people to buy furniture and big appliances such as fridges as they will not be able to carry this into their household due to inadequate or poor road networks and/or steep slopes. It gets even worse when someone is sick and is in need of an ambulance. The area is all

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muddy due to inadequate stormwater drainages. There is not enough water as some families consist of more than 10 members. There are not any proper sanitation units people are still using pit toilets. [Until the initiation of the ground water project] the majority of people did not have access to clean drinking water. The ground tank project managed to bring more reliable water into the households thus saving them time and distance. For the elderly, the project was a blessing because previously they had to depend on paying people money to bring them water. Some people felt that the Municipality did not take specific challenges facing the community into consideration. They believed that the Municipality was acting on its interest rather than that of the community. One interviewee referred to the decision to install ground tanks as a business decision rather than a developmental one. The view of the more optimistic part of the community sees the project as an attempt by the Municipality to develop them and provide a better life. Provision of ground tanks was seen as the beginning of the developmental journey. Saving water is seen as the main objective of this ground water tank project.

SOCIAL VULNERABILITY FRAMEWORK

Research was conducted to establish indicators for social vulnerability, taking into account the five components of a community; social capital, physical capital, human capital, financial capital and natural capital. Within each of these components, key indicators were selected that would adequately detail information regarding the Amaoti community specifically, thus enabling the determination of its vulnerability. This is summarised in Figure 2. It is important to bear in mind that informal settlements, such as Amaoti, are not clearly represented on maps. Rather, the community falls across four different Wards within the Municipality Ward 53, 56, 57 and 59 and thus information gathering can be difficult. The vulnerability of Amaoti was established in a two step process. Firstly, information for all the Wards within eThekwini was presented spatially using ArcGIS. This allowed for a comparison to be made between Wards and to determine which were the most vulnerable. The vulnerability was determined on a percentage basis for each of the specified criteria (eg. informal structures) for each Ward within the Municipality. This was done to give a sense of perspective across the Municipality and allowed for specific information to be seen for Amaoti. Secondly, information was then gathered directly regarding Amaoti, relying primarily on the Amaoti Enumeration Report (2005) that was compiled by the eThekwini Municipality and the South Africa Homeless People Federation. This information compliments the vulnerability status as determined using ArcGIS and the Ward comparison, providing more detailed and specific information regarding the Amaoti informal settlement.

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SocialComponents

Social
Howdoesthesocial infrastructurelend itselftosupportthe community?

Physical
Whatphysical infrastructureisin place?

Human
Howdopeoples personallives influencetheir vulnerability?

Financial
Whatfinancial institutionsarein placethatenable peopletodealwith risk?
1. Employment 2. Income 3. Savings 4. Government grants

Natural
Howisthenatural environment conduciveto supportingsocial initiatives?

Conceptual Framework

1. Access to health care 2. Access to

1. Sanitation 2. Electricity 3. Housing

1. Literacy rate 2. Health status 3. Population demographics 1. Open spaces (ie. Sports fields)

Quantitative Indicators

education 3. Social groups

SocialVulnerabilityModel
Figure 2: Social Vulnerability Model

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SITUATION ANALYSIS

Amaoti is one of the largest informal settlements in Durban with an area covering approximately 700ha, extending from the Phoenix boundary in the south to the boundary of the North Local Operational Entity in the east. Being in the extreme east of the wider Inanda area, Amaoti covers four Municipal Wards; Ward 53, 56, 57 and 59. Within Amaoti there are 14 communities: Nigeria, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Palestine, Moscow, Libya, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Tanzania, Geneva, Lusaka 1 and Lusaka 2. Much of the development within Amaoti is informal in its nature, with few local supporting facilities and amenities, few formal services and mostly informal and unsurfaced access roads with the exception of the D403. Like many other informal settlements in Durban, Amaoti is densely populated and is characterised by poor housing, poor sanitation, tenure insecurity and a general lack of other essential services (Amaoti Enumeration Report, 2005). 4.1 Historical Background

Amaoti, meaning more wood derived its name from the densely forested and uninhabited area that it used to cover and late in the 19th Century workers on neighbouring sugar estates would be directed to fetch firewood there. The history of the area is closely linked to the Inanda Mission Reserve and the Qadi chieftainship, and until the 1960s, Amaoti remained a quiet, rural place where land was divided among often prosperous Indian and African freehold farmers and smallholders who were allocated land by the Qadi Chief or his indunas (Hughes, 1998). The various communities of Amaoti have grown largely due to the migration of individuals and families, from areas as far as the Eastern and Western Cape and the Free State, in search of either employment or secure tenure. Some families have settled in Amaoti after being evicted from other settlements within Durban. According to the Amaoti Enumeration Report (2005), 13.59% of people currently living in the area claim to have been evicted, while 66.41% claim to have always lived in the area. Land in Amaoti is owned predominantly by the State (98.87%) and also by private enterprises (1.13%). This indicates that the majority of land is State owned, however according to Land Audits, a large part of land is privately owned, which stands to reveal that most informal settlers build on private land with the assumption that it is State land. This, however, has not been confirmed and there have been no project interventions to establish what the exact details concerning this are. The land in Amaoti is not only used for residential purposes, but for a variety of economic activities as well, including shops, tuck shops, schools, churches and animal rearing. There is also a community hall, police station, clinic and other services present in the area, and while public toilets and communal water taps do exist, it is noted that their numbers are severely insufficient and they do not meet the need of the community.

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4.2

Demographics

It is planned that Amaoti will develop into a high-density area through an in-situ upgrade, according to the eThekwini Municipality Slums Clearance Programme. While the progress on this initiative has not been confirmed, it has been clarified that there are currently 5 000 RDP houses in the area. 4.2.1 Population size

Figure 3 indicates the distribution of population within eThekwini, demonstrating areas with high population density, thus being more susceptible to the effects of climatic changes.

Figure 3: Population density within eThekwini

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The total population of Amaoti is 31,253 in 13,088 households, dispersed amongst the 14 communities as seen in Table 1. Of this population, 16, 486 are male and 14,767 are female (Amaoti Enumeration Report, 2005). It is interesting to note that Ward 59 has the highest population density within eThekwini, Ward 56 the 3rd, Ward 53 the 5th and Ward 57 the 27th. Table 1: Population breakdown of Amaoti Total number of Households 1290 700 1166 826 700 480 1180 966 1420 590 1300 590 1060 820 13088 Average persons per household 1.9 2.0 3.2 3.0 1.8 3.2 2.8 2.8 1.6 2.8 2.2 2.3 2.5 1.8 2.4

Settlement Cuba Zambia Lusaka 1 Lusaka 2 Libya Palestine Namibia Nigeria Angola Zimbabwe Tanzania Moscow Geneva Mozambique Total

Population 2438 1422 3821 2518 1270 1569 3357 2722 2216 1584 2856 1346 2636 1498 31253

There are on average 2.4 people per household and most of the houses are either one-roomed structures that accommodate 2 individuals, or three-roomed structures that accommodate 3 or more people. The communities vary in size, as indicated above, and it has been determined that 62.78% are structure owners, 37.13% are tenants and 0.09% are landowners, as indicated in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Owner/Tenant Ratio

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The Amaoti Enumeration Report (2005) further indicates that there are 3 categories of tenants within the settlements. The first form of tenants are those who rent the land from private owners and build structures on the land, termed structure owner tenants. The second form are those who rent formal structures termed sub-tenants and the third are backyard sub-tenants who rent the backyard shacks from the sub-tenants. These backyard shacks are generally built behind the formal structures, thus

most people who are tenants in Amaoti rent structures and not the land.
4.2.2 Nature of Houses

Figure 5 indicates the extent of informal housing within the Municipality, showing areas of high and low concentration. The red indicates areas of high numbers of informal settlements.

Figure 5: Ward vulnerability of informal housing within eThekwini

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There are a total number of 6,616 informal structures in Amaoti, built of either mud, gum poles, scrap metal or plastics, thus indicating a high vulnerability to the potential extremes of weather conditions as predicted to occur through climate change science. There are a further 4,421 formal structures built of either blocks or stones. The distribution of these settlements across the various communities in Amaoti is indicated in Table 2. Table 2: Nature of houses in various communities Settlement Cuba Zambia Lusaka 1 Lusaka 2 Libya Palestine Namibia Nigeria Angola Zimbabwe Tanzania Moscow Geneva Mozambique Total Formal structures (Blocks/stone) 754 143 366 223 248 179 396 155 119 223 369 319 356 222 4072 Mud Backyard structures shacks 717 663 359 108 604 217 418 173 386 159 279 487 383 134 781 182 394 192 336 169 350 135 277 179 341 179 198 216 5823 3193

With the high number of informal settlements in Amaoti, there is also a lack of infrastructure with which to supply electricity. It has been determined that 58% of the community has access to electricity, although it has been further indicated that this is not necessarily a reliant connection, and the vulnerability of the community in comparison to other Wards is shown in Figure 6.

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Figure 6: Households with no electricity within eThekwini

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4.2.3

Sanitation

Figure 7 indicates households within eThekwini that do not have access to flush toilets, thus indicating a high level of vulnerability with sanitation issues.

Figure 7: Ward indication of households with non-flush toilets within eThekwini

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Of the households in Amaoti, 2,758 use communal toilets, 3,458 have their own individual toilets, and a further 2,723 have no toilets at all. All the communities in Amaoti have inadequate sanitation units, however the community of Nigeria has the highest number of households without sanitation, as indicated in Table 3 (Amaoti Enumeration Report, 2005). Table 3: Household access to sanitation Settlement Cuba Zambia Lusaka 1 Lusaka 2 Libya Palestine Namibia Nigeria Angola Zimbabwe Tanzania Moscow Geneva Mozambique Total Communal Individual Toilets toilets 321 234 29 168 374 491 261 228 103 180 108 166 339 301 251 326 192 166 149 212 323 306 79 156 128 308 101 216 2758 3458 No toilets 127 109 364 331 78 157 184 393 176 94 185 89 349 87 2723

From this information it can be seen that for the whole of Amaoti, 31.39% use communal toilets, 38.77% have individual toilets and 29.84% have no toilets. This is shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8: Percentage of households with access to toilet sanitation

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4.2.4

Employment and Household Income

Figure 9 indicates the number of households who earn less than R800/month in income throughout the Municipality, thus making them vulnerable to financial insecurity.

Figure 9: Low income distribution (less than R800/month) in eThekwini

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According to the Amaoti Enumeration Report (2005), unemployment is a major problem in Amaoti with 3,664 household heads being unemployed, out of a total 8,715 employable age group, thus accounting for 44.7% of the adult population. This same report stated that there are 3,419 people who are formally employed, 878 self-employed and 712 temporarily employed. These figures are indicated in Table 4. Table 4: Employment breakdown Settlement Cuba Zambia Lusaka 1 Lusaka 2 Libya Palestine Namibia Nigeria Angola Zimbabwe Tanzania Moscow Geneva Mozambique Total Employed 276 77 483 411 122 346 170 371 142 230 270 133 217 171 3419 Unemployed 213 115 495 257 202 319 178 392 278 253 408 149 251 154 3664 Temporary employed 39 54 140 97 9 65 46 125 76 32 56 18 107 14 878 Self employed 87 38 83 39 14 57 60 86 45 11 75 25 91 41 754

The Enumeration Report further established that the average household income for Amaoti is R1,200, however this figure is difficult to confirm, considering that many people are daily or weekly wage earners and their monthly income is an approximation. Government grants also form a large part of household income, with child, disability, refugee grants; housing subsidies and pensions being the primary source of income. The Enumeration Report confirmed that some households rely solely on these grants for their income and have no other means with which to support themselves. According to the same document, 10.24% of Amaoti receive a monthly pension, 0.27% receive a housing subsidy, 2.64% receive a disability grant, 25.05% a child grant and 0.24% a refugee grant. These statistics are represented in Figure 10.

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Figure 10: Percentage of government grants received Savings are considered to be a crucial element in socio-economic development and a survey was conducted to determine how many households within Amaoti engage in this process. A total of 885 household heads were interviewed (Amaoti Enumeration Report, 2005) and it was determined that a large part of the community does engage in savings activities, the figures of which are indicated in Table 5. Table 5: Indication of savings schemes engaged Savings Type Bank Stokvel Credit Union Savings Scheme Total Number 110 644 45 86

The financial status of the community has a direct correlation to the level of education of its members, and it is indicated that only 47% of the community has formal education above Grade 7 (see Figure 11). This is further exacerbated by the lack of schools within the area (see Figure 12), particularly considering the high percentage of children within the Amaoti community.

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Figure 11: Indication of education level below Grade 7 across eThekwini

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Figure 12: Location of Educational Institutions

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4.2.5

Healthcare

As already stated, Amaoti is spread across four Wards within eThekwini and it has been determined that the communities from all four Wards rely on the same public healthcare facilities (see Figure 13). This includes a local clinic and an occasional mobile clinic that brings medical staff to the Amaoti Community Hall in Cuba, primarily for child immunisations. Indication was made in the Enumeration Report of herbalists and witch doctors within the area, but there was no indication of private or nongovernmental organisations providing health care.

Figure 13: Location of hospitals and clinics within eThekwini Based on the population dynamics of the Amaoti community it has been recommended that there is a need for clinics in each of the 14 areas in Amaoti, and a referral hospital that would serve the community at large (Amaoti Enumeration Report, 2005). There is also a need for pharmacies that would be able to supply medication for community members, thus ensuring that people would not have to travel far, particularly when they are ill.

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4.3

Summary of analysis

Based on the information detailed above, the statistics for Amaoti are summarised in Table 6. This correlates to the vulnerability framework as initially depicted in Figure 2. Table 6: Summary of statistics for Amaoti Components
Social Capital Access to health care (number of clinics) Access to education (number of schools) Social groups (hall) Physical Capital Sanitation: access to flush toilets Electricity Housing: informal structures Human Capital Literacy rate (above Grade 7) Health status: good Population: total Population: women Population: children, elderly, disabled (<15; >65) Financial Capital Employment (of employable age) Income Savings Government grants Natural Capital Sports fields 3 4 2 4 3 55.29% R1200/month 18.32% 13.57% 31% 23% 28% 31% 47% 43.40% 31253 47% 72% 41368 52% 33% 42152 53% 42% 36551 53% 39% 47341 52% 37% 47% 48% 47% 49% 26% 58% 51% 20% 55% 48% 3% 69% 65% 22% 57% 67% 32% 54% 45% 3 6 2 2 4 1 4 5 1 2 6 1 5 12 4

Amaoti

Ward 53

Ward 56

Ward 57

Ward 59

INFRASTRUCTURAL NEEDS

A number of infrastructural needs have been identified within the community, mainly derived from the assessment of the community as stipulated above. The major infrastructural needs are roads and improved sanitation and waste management, which will be briefly discussed. 5.1 Roads

According to the Enumeration Report (2005), there were a number of concerns that the community noted and further suggested that they needed assistance with. From this it was determined that 8.6% of Amaoti have health problems that they need assistance with, with 1.62% revealing that HIV/AIDS was a pressing issue. 1.62% need assistance with orphans and other vulnerable children and 2.26%

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need assistance with disabled people. It was further noted that 19.09% needed assistance to maintain food security, mainly due to the high level of unemployment and lack of government grants. It has also been established that there is an urgent need for roads in Amaoti, particularly a network of roads that connects the 14 areas to the main road (D403). The D403 is referred to as the Activity Corridor in the Amaoti Development Framework (2001). 5.2 Sanitation and Waste Management

The poor sanitation of Amaoti has an effect on health and environmental issues, deteriorating the status of both and allowing communicable diseases to be more easily spread. Much of the waste from homes and small tuck shops is currently dumped on the roadside, or any other open spaces, and there is need for a proper waste management and reticulation system to be established (Amaoti Enumeration Report, 2005).

WATER ISSUES

Access to potable water is a major problem in Amaoti as a whole and the Municipality has been engaged with a project that has installed public water taps at strategic points within the community. Due to the rugged terrain of Amaoti, connection of water and sewer reticulation pipes has been difficult and thus the option of public water points was considered to be more favourable. In June 2007, Impilo Engcono initiated a project to supply ground water tanks free of charge to approximately 1 300 households in the Tanzania and Angola section of Amaoti, an investment totalling R3 million (Khumalo and Blose, 2007). The ground tanks are piped into a system and are automatically refilled once a day with 200 litres of water. The new ground tank service was installed in July 2007 with the intent of reducing non-revenue water, and to a significant extent, the project seems to have drastically reduced both the incidence of general water loss and of illegal connections (Wilson, 2008). Only 16% of people reported seeing water flowing from taps without being used, and comment was made water was flowing from malfunctioning leaky taps and tanks of the ground tank project itself. Only 6% reported seeing water leaking from underground pipes and 14% noted that people still managed to make illegal connections, significantly lower than reports from other areas (Wilson, Malakoana and Gounden, 2008). The University of KwaZulu-Natal conducted a study to determine the satisfaction of the community with the new ground tank provision through a survey administered to households who were part of the phase 1 implementation. Out of a total of 240 households, a random sample of 100 households was selected (Wilson, 2008). Of the people surveyed, only 42% said they were satisfied with their ground tank service, commensurate with 41% who said that their opinion of eThekwini Water and Sanitation had improved as a result of the initiative. 45% commented that they were dissatisfied, for reasons that will be discussed later.

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In terms of the benefits of the ground tanks, three main benefits were identified (Wilson, 2008) and are: Water is always available/closer/easier to fetch; Time is saved; and Water is saved/ easier to save.

Of these benefits, the report further notes that the main benefits were felt at an individual level and not at a community level. In fact, community-level benefits were not listed by any respondents and it is concluded that there needs to be heightened awareness for initiatives such as this. There were also a range of problems that were associated with the ground tanks, and the top three were indicated as (Wilson, 2008): Often not enough water (cut-offs without notification and malfunctioning tanks); Water quality issues (responses indicated concern over the tank itself not being clean, water heating up in the tank, and that tanks were ill-designed in term of locking options thus making it easy for enemies to access household water supply with poison); Leaky taps and tanks/broken valves/ overflow.

While there is no doubt that the ground tanks have been of benefit to a large majority of the community, there have also been a number of issues mentioned, as noted above. Of the people interviewed, 40% commented that their tank ran out of water more than once a week and a significant number commented that there were water cut offs without notification (Wilson, 2008). It was also noted, however, that 84% of people had begun deploying strategies to conserve water for later use, such as storing water in containers and reusing rinsing water. The report further indicates that while the difficulties associated with the ground tanks have been technical in nature, there are also a number of conceptual issues that require attention. There is evidence to suggest that the ground tank service requires a significant mindset shift for the people of Amaoti, and it is not clear that the project has significantly engaged with social implications invoked by the disruption of fundamental patterns of water use (Wilson, 2008). This point is further stipulated in a comment made by one of the field workers present during the conduct of this study who comments (Wilson, 2008): The community still practices cultural and traditional ceremonies which require significant use of water: 200 litres is often not enough for such ceremonies to be undertaken. Amaoti community, though geographically positioned as part of urban fabric, has its roots firmly on rural background. The implementation of the ground tank project disregarded this view.

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Furthermore, the same reports comments that there is little evidence that the project fostered a sense of community or community upliftment, but rather, a large percentage of the community felt they were being forced through the ground tank service to assume the costs of benefits that would accrue to the Municipality and not to the community itself. There was a suspicion that injustices were embedded in the design of the ground tank project and that the Municipality did not have the best interests of the community at heart (Wilson, 2008).

WAY FORWARD

This report has demonstrated that the Amaoti community is socially vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, and that special care needs to be taken when dealing with the community in developing adaptation strategies, both from an environmental and a social perspective. While there are numerous negative factors found within the community, there are also a number of strengths, and these should be the primary focus when developing interventions. There have been projects initiated within the community and the lessons learned from them should be taken into account. The assessment of the Ground Tank Service Project highlights a number of critical suggestions for further involvement with the community. These are (Wilson, 2008): Approaches to public engagement need to be re-evaluated so as to increase participation and communication. This will strengthen the degree of trust with the proposed project; Emphasis needs to be placed on benefits to individuals, households and the community as a whole, as opposed to abstract civic goals; Communicate more effectively the notion of community upliftment; and Consider specific project initiatives that illustrate concretely the understanding of community needs and dynamics, while working more closely with the community to ensure that these are fully understood.

The issue of main concern in Amaoti is that of reliable access to potable water and adaptation strategies need to be developed to address this. It is proposed that interaction with the community needs to occur as soon as possible to establish contacts and to determine specifically the possibilities for adaptation. As a way forward, the following needs to occur: Create a stakeholder matrix to determine the entities within the community that need to be involved in developing and implementing the adaptation strategies to ensure that the initiatives have influential support; Compile a literature review on potential adaptation strategies; Conduct a social survey to understand the community more comprehensively, including a detailed outline of current coping mechanisms found within the community, opinions surrounding possible adaptation measures that can be implemented;

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Selection of adaptation strategies and avenues within the community where these can be implemented; Develop a community theatre intervention that will communicate the adaptation strategies to the community and allow for opinion, analysis, comment, and general community participation; and Develop a roll out implementation plan for the eThekwini Municipality.

Contact has been established with various community leaders within Amaoti and plans for further engagement and underway.

REFERENCES

Amaoti Enumeration Report (2005). Amaoti Enumeration and Mobilisation Exercise, A Partnership between eThekwini Municipality and South Africa Homeless Peoples Federation. Enumeration report submitted by Project Facilitator on behalf of the eThekwini Municipality Housing Unit, Homeless Peoples Federation and Amaoti Community, and Community Organisation Urban Resource Centre/SDI, 25 May 2005. Khumalo, T and Blose, G. (2007). R3 million Water Project for Amaoti, article written for the eThekwini Municipality Website The Official Site of the City of Durban. http://www.durban.gov.za/durban. Accessed 13 January 2009. Wilson, Z. (2008). Assessment of Customer Satisfaction of FBW Ground Tank Service in Amaoti Informal Settlement, Section 1. Draft report compiled with research assistance by Sandile Mbatha and Nhlanhla Ngema for the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the eThekwini Municipality. Wilson, Z, Malakoana, M and Gounden, T. (2008). Trusting Consumers: Involving Communities in Water Service Decision-Making in Durban, South Africa in Water SA, Vol. 34, No 2 (IF: 0:44). GOLDER ASSOCIATES AFRICA (PTY) LTD

Kiara Worth

Rob Hounsome

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GOLDER ASSOCIATES