Page 8 - Research Report 2025.1

Participant 7 also emphasised that rural areas tend to have gravel roads, while urban areas have paved roads, further contributing to the disparity in service access. Participant 4 highlighted the deep rural nature of Alfred Nzo, underscoring how unpaved, rural roads drastically limit access to critical services and economic opportunities.
Participant 6
“Because if you check-in our IDPs, even the district, and Ntabankulu is one area which has a scarcity of water. We don’t have water. A lot of things. Telecommunication, you can mention them. We are so poor infrastructure. Socially, even socially, if I may get in, then we have no facilities. Sport facilities. Yeah. Infrastructure facilities. like community halls. Schools. We are in that block at schools. Lot of schools have not yet built have been built in Ntabankulu. Clinics. Usually, you check, we have few clinics. Although I don’t have statistics now. Yes. But we don’t have clinics. Above all, in terms of social, we have a, ward is a poverty-stricken ward”
Digital and Communication Barriers
Participant 7
Normally, the infrastructure in those areas are a little bit behind, mostly gravel road in our case, whereas the urban infrastructure is tare road. In the rural areas,
community halls, schools.
Participants also expressed concerns about digital and communication barriers in the Alfred Nzo District. Participant 1 explained that it is difficult to communicate with community members through modern platforms, such as WhatsApp or other online channels, due to the lack of fiber connectivity and stable mobile networks in the region. Consequently, more traditional methods like community radio stations are used for communication, but these methods limit access to timely information.
Participant 1 also suggested that improving internet connectivity should be seen as a basic right, as it facilitates access to vital information and enhances communication between residents and local governance structures. Without adequate digital infrastructure, residents face difficulties in contacting municipal services, which further exacerbates the isolation of rural communities.
The lack of reliable internet and mobile connectivity in particular puts rural residents at a significant disadvantage in the modern economy, reducing their ability to access crucial information and resources that could improve their quality of life.
Participant 1
“Here, if you don’t go to your community members for whatever, maybe you want to do an awareness or maybe it’s an Imbizo. You have to straight to go to them or maybe, utilize a radio method. You cannot communicate with them, via WhatsApp group or like this platform because, there’s connectivity issues, because of the we don’t have fibers here. Network for Internet fibers we don’t have that luxury. It’s a it’s a totally a rural area.”
“So I think if maybe the government can try and, also, because I think, connectivity is a is a is a right as well, because it gives you access, to information. So we we have a limited access to information in the rural areas. And which I think if if maybe they were connected, they had access to that Yes. So, information would flow easily, between the municipality and the communities itself. So sometimes, it can be difficult for them if they cannot access the counsellor. They cannot be able to, easily contact the customer care line maybe and make a call and say, please come assist us with such and such an issue.”
Theme 3:
Environmental challenges and Natural Resources
This theme highlights the complex environmental and natural resource issues that rural areas like the Alfred Nzo District face, with a particular focus on water security, the underutilization of natural resources and the challenges of converting these resources into sustainable economic growth.
Environmental Challenges
Participants identified environmental challenges in the Alfred Nzo District, with water scarcity being a primary concern. Participant 2 highlighted the growing issue of water security, worsened by invasive alien plant species that threaten local ecosystems. Participant 6 echoed this, pointing out that Ntabankulu is particularly affected by water shortages, which impede both daily life and agricultural activities.
6 | STUDY OBJECTIVE I