CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH SERVICE DELIVERY IN SOUTH AFRICAN
MUNICIPALITIES
INTRODUCTION
Amongst the most difficult challenges, the South African government has had to deal with after
the apartheid era is the continuously rising number of protests related to service delivery, even
though the democratic government's main objective is public sector restructuring, putting more
emphasis on the transformation of service delivery to satisfy basic needs and rectify historical
injustices, effective and efficient service delivery continues to be an issue in this country (Mbecke,
2014). Both quantitative and qualitative methods of research were used by scholars such as Khale
and Worku (2013) to pinpoint the source of this issue and they concluded that, even though
municipalities in the Gauteng and Western Cape provinces were exposed to adequate resources
made available by the government to improve provision of basic services, Political manipulation,
corruption, and a lack of accountability and transparency, as well as insufficient citizen
engagement, poor human resource policies, inability to govern transformations, an inadequacy in
staff capability, haphazard planning and evaluation and monitoring, are all variables to consider
which result in the objective of successful service delivery not being met (Mbecke, 2014). This
research will therefore address the challenges associated with service delivery in South Africa
while focusing on the impact they have on the well-being of citizens as well as come up with
strategies that can be used to solve this problem and ensure effective service delivery.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND THE NEED FOR THE RESEARCH
Local government is the foundation of fundamental service delivery as stated in Section 152 of the
South African constitution of 1996 (Mbecke, 2014). Municipalities have a responsibility to
maintain the sustainable delivery of basic services to citizens from different communities, fostering
social and economic growth, as well as maintaining an environment that is both healthy and safe
(Nkomo, 2017). Effective provision of basic services in municipalities is the cornerstone of a better
standard of living, and appropriate quantities of clean and drinkable water as well as adequate
sanitation are essential for life, prosperity, and human decency. Statistics SA (2016) researched
the state of service delivery in South Africa and discovered that residents' perceptions of the
services they receive differ substantially between different municipalities such that those from
municipalities located in urban areas receive better services than those located in the rural areas.
From this statement, a conclusion can be drawn that rural municipalities are more affected by
factors such as corruption, mismanagement of government funds as well as inadequate citizen
participation, such that the social and economic growth in these areas has been affected negatively
due to the inability of municipalities to provide basic services.
THE RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
This research paper seeks to achieve its objectives of recognizing the challenges that ambush the
abilities of municipalities to effectively provide services by paying more attention to the objectives
listed below:
 To examine the underlying causes of service delivery issues that municipalities face.
 To examine the effects of service delivery issues on societies.
 To explore solutions to reduce the challenges of service delivery.
THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
 What are the most common reasons for service delivery problems?
 What influence do issues in service delivery have on communities?
 What can be done to reduce the challenges of service delivery?
THEORY
Service delivery: Service delivery is whereby the government provides fundamental services that
are sufficient, affordable, and of excellent quality through the different municipalities that exist in
provinces. These services may include amongst others drinkable water and sanitation,
infrastructure as well as health services. Over the last few decades, enormous progress was made
in the delivery of essential services, however, Citizens living in rural areas have had far less access
to these services and the government recognises this setback and is therefore required to come up
with innovative measures to improve and sustain the system (Mbecke, 2014).
 Corruption:
Corruption can be referred to as the practice of unlawfully manipulating the decision-making
process by providing or obtaining compensation (appreciation) for the decision-maker or other
related parties. Act No 12 of 2004 known as the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities
is the South African legislation that was introduced to criminalise those involved in corruption
(ProEthics, 2011).
 Public Participation:
Section 152 of the South African constitution states that, local authorities must encourage members
of the community, institutions and other organizations to participate in affairs concerning the local
government. At the municipal level, public participation is a tool for promoting a culture of good
government. One of the most successful approaches to strengthen accountability and transparency
is to reveal the state's major functions to citizens. Public participation can be achieved through
community meetings which can be organized by the community councils, and this will give
citizens the platform they need to voice out the different issues they face in their community.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study intends to use both the quantitative and qualitative approaches whereby the goal of the
qualitative method is to learn and comprehend how people experience events and circumstances.
Whereas the quantitative approach concentrates on objective data acquisition using analytical,
mathematical, or numerical methods of collecting data, and tools such as surveys and interviews,
as well as modifying pre-existing statistical data using computing tools can be used to collect the
required statistical information. The data for this research was gathered by utilizing Secondary
data from online journals, articles, and newspapers to obtain more information on the state of
service delivery in different municipalities. The target population sampled was some of the 278
municipalities in South Africa to compare and contrast the level in which each one receives basic
services as well as the response of citizens to these services.
REFERENCE LIST
Statistics South Africa. 2016. The state of basic service delivery in South Africa: In-depth analysis
of
the
Community
Survey
2016
data.
Available
from:
http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/Report%2003-01-22/Report%2003-01-222016.pdf. [ 17
March 2022]
Khale, S. & Worku, Z. 2013. Factors that Affect Municipal Service Delivery in Gauteng and North
West Provinces of South Africa African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation, and
Development 5 (1): 61-70
Mbecke. Z. 2014. Resolving the service delivery dilemma in South Africa through a cohesive
service delivery theory Journal of Problems and Perspectives in Management 12(4): 265.
Available
from:
https://www.businessperspectives.org/index.php/journals?controller=pdfview&task=download&i
tem_id=6133. [15 March 2022].
Nkomo. S. 2017. Public service delivery in South Africa Councillors and citizens critical links in
overcoming
persistent
inequities.
Available
from:
https://media.africaportal.org/documents/ab_policypaperno42_local_service_delivery_in_southaf
rica.pdf. [15 March 2022]
ProEthics. 2011. Defining Corruption. Available from: https://www.proethics.co.za/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/Defining-corruption-May-2011-FINAL.pdf. [18 March 2022]