Exploring service delivery protests in post-apartheid South African municipalities: A literature review

Abstract

This study addresses issues such as how service delivery protests have been conceptualised scientifically by researchers from the perspective of practice, policy and industry; how the conceptualisation has evolved over time; interconnections, if any, between service delivery protests and other elements; dominant dimensions or themes in the scientific literature on service delivery protests; and the impact of lack of public participation on service delivery. Method:The study adopts a hermeneutic framework, with the literature obtained classified, mapped, critically assessed, themes and arguments developed.Results: There is a paucity of studies conducted and published between 1994 and 2000 on service delivery protests. Secondly, most studies are narrative analyses of protest events not grounded in any research philosophy, tradition, theory or framework. Lastly, most of the studies are qualitative, with no evidence of reliability and validity being tested and, consequently, acceptability of their findings. Conclusion:This study is expected to play an important role in shaping government policies and practices and assisting in planning to mitigate service delivery protests and also contribute to the scientific knowledge regarding how scholars perceive service delivery protests. It depicts gaps in the service delivery protests at a municipal level to draw future scholars to conduct empirical studies with an aim to contribute to theory, concept and policy and advise decisionmakers at municipal levels.

Governance and Cadre Deployment in South Africa

“…Mngomezulu (2020) expounds that the ANC's cadre deployment strategy, which supports the idea that people should be hired based on their devotion and lengthy service to the organization, has a negative influence on service delivery since it employs inept and unqualified workers who fail to execute their jobs. According to Ngcamu (2019), local communities in South Africa are unsatisfied with municipal services as a result of the appointment of untrained, unqualified, and inexperienced cadres to municipal managerial posts, which have harmed municipalities. The deployment of cadres in local government fosters corruption and maladministration, which have harmed the image of local government, as seen by the numerous service delivery demonstrations that have occurred in South African communities.…”

Nature‐reliant, low‐income households face the highest rates of woody‐plant encroachment in South Africa

“…The identified municipalities are also all located in the historical subdivision of the country under the apartheid government, known as ‘homeland’ areas, of the current Eastern Cape, Kwa‐Zulu Natal and Limpopo provinces. These areas were historically and are contemporarily neglected and remain relatively underdeveloped in terms of access to services such as piped water and electricity (Hamann et al, 2015; Mani et al, 2021; Ngcamu, 2019; Nnadozie, 2011). This underdevelopment further entrenches reliance on natural resources, such as grazing grasses for livestock husbandry, locally sourced freshwater and wood products.…”

Electricity access in Uganda’s slums: multi-stakeholder perspectives from Kampala

“…Socio-political history, policy environment and public service delivery Fox (2014) and Raleigh (2014) have observed the influence of socio-political history on urbanisation trajectory, slum incidence and urban inequality, the quality of service that citizens feel entitled to, and consequently their lobbying efforts for better services. In post-apartheid South Africa, most townships consider electricity access a basic right and make demands of municipalities to that end (Alexander 2010, Mashamaite 2014, Morudu 2017, Ngcamu 2019. Meanwhile, in Uganda where the energy sector is private sector-driven and electricity generation and distribution is in the hands of private utilities, the urban poor mostly devise improvisations to fill the service gaps left by the utility (Buyana et al 2019, Keefe et al 2015, Munro 2020, Sims 2012.…”