Exploring the use and adoption of urine diverting dehydration toilets in Umgababa community in eThekwini Municipality: the experiences of community members and leaders.

Abstract

Sanitation is the safe treatment and disposal of human faeces. Ensuring availability and sustainable management of sanitation for all is part of sustainable development goalsagenda 2030. Even though the adoption and use of UDDTs is low in eThekwini Municipality, most of these studies are quantitative in nature and have not been conducted in UMgababa community. Therefore, this study aimed at employing qualitative methods with the aim of exploring the problems associated with the adoption and use of UDDTs in UMgababa community from the perspective of community members and leaders. There were 15 participants in the study. All participants were chosen purposively. They were accessed using snowball sampling a technique that uses referrals. Semistructured interviews and observations were utilized to get data from all participants. All interviews were guided by interview guide with open ended questions. The findings show that there was blame game regarding the installation of UDDTs by Ward councilor and area coordinators. Community members did not have an idea who was responsible for installing of the UDDTs Instead they linked such developments to the ANC which is a leading political party in South Africa. They also mention that they were not consulted about the UDDTs instead the development came as an announcement from the municipality. Training received regarding the use of UDDTs lasted for five minutes. Community members resent the UDDTs adoption and use of UDDTs by community members. These results show that the government uses the top-down approach in designing interventions for the communities. These findings are important for policy makers to conduct an impact assessment and calls for prompt action to be taken to help address the lack of adequate adoption and use of UDDTs by the community members and ultimately improve the wellbeing of the people.