Document: Emfuleni LM: Local Government Turnaround Strategy

2009 saw an increasing number of service delivery protests across the country. Many reasons for these protests have been offered by government, civil society and academia. The primary reason vocalized by protestors however has often been dissatisfaction with the delivery of basic municipal services such as running water, electricity and toilets, especially in informal settlements. Unemployment, high levels of poverty, poor infrastructure, and the lack of houses add to the growing dissatisfaction in these and other poor communities.

Emfuleni has been no exception to these protests. The Turnaround Strategy for 2010 therefore seeks to address both the issues highlighted within Government’s various planning documents as well as the various issues raised by communities within Emfuleni. The triggers for service delivery protests in Emfuleni are threefold – all inextricably interlinked.

The first is poverty, and like all places in the country, it underlies many other social problems within the region. Emfuleni residents feel that their situation is desperate and see no visible signs that it will improve in the near future. Their poverty excludes them from society, leaving them with access to neither economic nor social opportunity.

Poverty is closely tied in with the second trigger wherein small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs feel that they are being systematically excluded from business opportunities within the municipality. They feel for instance that the municipal procurement system can be used to improve their lot and do not understand why that does not happen.

Following on closely to the second trigger is a lack of local economic development (LED). Residents feel that the absence of LED perpetuates the poverty cycle because opportunities are not created for them to either find or create meaningful livelihoods.

Furthermore, amongst other factors compounding these triggers are the visibly poor state of municipal= roads (there is currently a backlog of ~R5 billion), incorrect billing information being sent to customers due to antiquated technology (a number of customers have threatened to stop paying their rates to the municipality and instead pay them into a fund) and a broken down municipal wastewater system that has resulted in raw sewerage running above ground and spilling into rivers.