Assessment of the stakeholders understanding of a sustainable community and the sustainability of their initiative : a case of Tsilitwa Project in the Mhlontlo Local Municipality, Eastern Cape

Abstract

The key stakeholders to the Tsilitwa Project in Mhlontlo Local Municipality have a consistent understanding of what a sustainable community is and their understanding is generally consistent with the widely used and acceptable definition of sustainable community, except that the stakeholders to this project do not seem to attach any value to ecological integrity. They all believe that central to the development of a sustainable community is an active participation of the community itself in determining their destiny. However, there seems to be a disagreement on whether the project was implemented in accordance with their understanding, with others blaming the implementing agent on one side and others believing that the original budget was not sufficient on the other. Even though some stakeholders are optimistic about the sustainability of the project, they all seem to agree that for the project to be revived and become a sustainable initiative some funding from either government or other partners is necessary. The participation and/or involvement of other partners such as other government departments, development finance institutions, etc is also seen as one thing that would boost the project further. The current state of the project and the associated facilities is not a good sight and there is clear evidence of deterioration of the cooperative, guesthouse and other facilities. The provision of water has been a challenge to the whole community due to non-payment of an electricity bill for the water supply facility, and this has led to ESKOM cutting the power supply.