Complexities of Equity as a Principle for Allocating Scarce Water Resources

Abstract

Although the term ‘equity’ exudes fairness, what equity really means remains unclear. Framed within the distributive justice framework, the article explored the different meanings and principles of equity within the discourse of water allocation reform. Equity has been a central guiding principle in the allocation of resources, yet very little is known about what it is and how it can be recognised in practice. This gap in understanding is also found in water allocation reform, a process meant to address the inherited water access and allocation inequalities in post-1994 South Africa. The article is built from focus group discussions and interviews from a select group of participants of a qualitative study. Necessitated by the dismissal of the relevancy of a discussion on equity, the article deconstructed the assumptions that equity, as an option for distributing resources, is obvious and paves the way for fairness. The article revealed that the choice of equity in the allocation of water in post-1994 South Africa was not really interrogated prior to use. Findings from interviews from a select group of participants on alternative options for the allocation of water were also discussed. The article recommended that principles for the allocation of resources be clear and measurable.