Justice in basic water distribution

Abstract

Justice in water distribution.- the challenge for social justice in South Africa

This thesis looks at social justice as presented by John Rawls in Justice as fairness from 1971 and David Miller in Principles of Social Justice from 1999. My main example for the thesis is South Africa and how water is distributed there. I present three different levels of society and how these interact when it comes to social justice: the international level, the national level (South Africa) and the local level (Cape Town). These three levels are chosen to display how laws and policies from one level are dependent on what happen at other levels. I look especially at how international legislation and polices have impact on national legislation and polices, and how it is necessary for especially developing countries to give away some control over own policies to international institutions and developing agencies. The topic for the thesis is justice in basic water distribution so much focus is on legislation and policies that concern provision of basic water in Cape Town, South Africa and in the UN system. The South African Free Basic Water Policy with raising block tariffs is questioned, and so are the international cost-recovery policies. I also present extracts from the debate between those that believe that water is mainly a human right and those that believe that water is mainly a commodity. In South Africa I am concerned with how South Africa has developed since 1994 and the social conditions in the country. It is especially development in health, poverty, employment and people’s financial situation that is of my concern. In this context I try to see if there is social justice in South Africa as described by Miller and Rawls.