Deficit thinking in South Africa’s water allocation reform discourses: a cultural discourse perspective

Abstract

The article focuses on how deficit thinking emerges from the statements made by some of the participants of a study on water allocation reform in South Africa. It draws from interviews and focus group discussions from a select few participants of the qualitative study. The application of the deconstructive strategy to analyse data revealed perceptions of deficiencies in the capacities of Black people in agriculture as well as in government offices. The study found that expressions of concern regarding threats on the environment when and if water is allocated to Black communities were based on assumptions of inherent deficiencies within the Black communities. This article characterises this perception as ‘deficit thinking’. The article provides the basis for such characterisation by explaining the origins and meaning of the concept of deficit thinking. It argues for the need to consider the impact of social forces such as apartheid discriminatory practices on the socio-economic constitution of the Black person. The article concludes that deficit thinking needs to be considered and confronted as a challenge trumping water reform. It warns of the implicitness and covertness of deficit thinking and recommends that discourses reflect the realities of post-1994 South Africa which emerged from colonial and apartheid rule.