South Africa’s constitution promises all citizens access to adequate housing and basic services – water, security, sanitation and electricity. In practice, people from rich to poor experience persistent water cuts, sewage overflows, electricity blackouts and uneven policing. Fiona Anciano, Charlotte Lemanski, Christina Culwick Fatti and Margot Rubin are urban researchers who investigated how and why households in South Africa are going off-grid in almost every way. They speak to The Conversation Africa about the long-term problems that could result from people being compelled to provide their own basic services.
How has service delivery failed in South Africa?
For low-income households, services may be available but too expensive to afford. Government subsidies are too low or inaccessible. For example, in South Africa a free basic monthly amount of electricity is supplied to residents who can prove that they are indigent. But it’s not even enough to power a fridge for one month. And roughly 70% of indigent households don’t receive the free electricity, due to lack of awareness and complex application processes.
