There are high levels of poverty in the municipalities in which the two townships are situated. The poverty rate, defined as the proportion of households with an income below R800 per month, was 37%  in Ekurhuleni and 59% in Dipaleseng in 2007. This is according to the 2007 Community Survey published by Statistics South Africa.

These poor households depend on the municipality to provide basic services such as adequate housing, water, and sanitation facilities. Between 2004 and 2007, there were some improvements in the provision of services, but overall, the proportion of households with access to basic services such as water, adequate sanitation, and electricity remained the same.

 

Source: Gaffney’s, Local Government in South Africa 2004 – 2006; Local Government in South Africa 2007 – 2008

 

Both municipalities share several characteristics which might help to explain the protest actions:

·         First, both have large proportions of households which do not have an income. In 2007, 22% and 26% of households in Ekurhuleni and Dipaleseng respectively did not have an income. This is an indication of the unemployment levels in these municipalities. The unemployed then use informal means such as bartering, illegal activities, or subsistence farming to sustain themselves.

·         Second, the proportions of households with access to basic services have not changed from 2004 to 2007.

·         Third, there are high levels of informal dwellings in both municipalities. People living in informal dwellings have limited access to basic services because of the type of houses they occupy, which make it difficult for the municipalities to provide services.

These factors may provide a partial explanation for the protest actions, but there are several municipalities which share some of these characteristics but do not have a high incidence of protest action. Municipalities in the Eastern Cape are the best examples of this. These areas have the highest levels of poverty among all district and local municipalities, one as high as 80% in 2007. The proportion of households without access to basic services in these municipalities is also higher than in Ekurhuleni and Dipaleseng.

The issue of service delivery protests cannot, therefore, be solely explained by delivery failures. Some reasons for this are suggested in an effort to understand the reasons the municipalities in the Eastern Cape do not experience the types and numbers of protest actions experiences by areas most affected by protests.

1.       Municipalities in the Eastern Cape have mostly poor and rural communities. This means there is less inequality, as people are equally poor.

2.       These communities generally have traditional leadership in addition to political leadership. Matters in communities are dealt with in a manner decided by the traditional leadership, with set protocols to deal with concerns.

3.       People still live in relatively decent houses compared to those living in squalid conditions in informal settlements or in backyards. There is also a sense of security in that, unlike in informal settlements people are not vulnerable to evictions.

While the above analysis provides only a glimpse of the reasons behind the protest actions, more reasons may still be identified. The lesson that should be learnt from the analysis is that service delivery protests are not purely a result of service-delivery failures, but that there are more reasons behind these protests.

- Nthamaga Kgafela