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Structural configurations on the governance of urban water supply in Cape Town, South Africa
Author(s)
Tyhotyholo, Thembelani
Date Issued
2026
Type
doctoral thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
This thesis investigated the influence of structural configurations on urban water governance in Cape Town. The thesis focused on how structural configurations, such as the code of conduct, institutional culture, and the hierarchy of authority, shape the decisions and actions of different actors in the process of urban water governance in Cape Town. In post-apartheid South Africa, the process of urban water governance has been marked by a lack of financial and technical capacity to implement existing urban water policies and strategies. This thesis drew insights from the structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) to explain the influence of structural configurations on the decisions and actions of various actors participating in the urban water governance process in Cape Town. The thesis describes how structural configurations embedded in the post-apartheid urban authorities have regularised and confined the decisions of urban water governance actors in Cape Town. The study was grounded in an interpretivist research philosophy and thus adopted a qualitative approach to analyse the influence of structural configurations on urban water governance in Cape Town. The study used an interpretive case study research design, with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to collect data. Purposive and snowball samplings were used to recruit key informants. Primary data were analysed using content and thematic analysis techniques with the aid of ATLAS.ti software. The main findings of the study demonstrate that the structural configurations embedded in post-apartheid urban authorities determine and constrain the decisions and actions of various actors involved in urban water governance in Cape Town. The thesis argues that structural configurations continuously thwart creativity and innovation in the process of urban water governance- a situation that has contributed to the urban water policy implementation failure, manifesting in the persistent water access inequalities in Cape Town. This challenge has been compounded by the limited financial and technical capacity of both the national and local governments to promote community participation in the formulation and implementation of urban water policy in Cape Town. There is a need to transform and revitalise existing structural configurations to strengthen the efficacy of urban water governance in post-apartheid South Africa, particularly in Cape Town. The thesis proposes a participatory urban water governance model as a contribution towards strengthening community participation in the formulation and implementation of urban water policy in Cape Town.
Additional information
Thesis (Doctor of Public Administration)--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2026
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