Off the grid: How South Africans are filling the gaps in failing service delivery

In communities across South Africa, residents are going off the grid - not just for power, but for basic services as well.

According to a report by urban researchers, more citizens are assuming responsibility for the government's shortfall.

Faiti, one of the report's researchers, says communities are predominantly providing their own security, sanitation, refuse, water, and electricity services.

“We’ve identified quite a well-established community security group in places like Imizamo Yethu (Cape Town), who have quite a structured setup of policing and security patrollers that really take the place of inadequate policing in those areas.”

These trends go across the income spectrum in South Africa.

Faiti adds, “One of the important things about our Constitution is the government’s responsibility to ensure access to these services, but I think the issue that we are seeing is that the government’s inability to do that has left gaps, and communities are looking for ways to fill those gaps.

“That puts into question some of the ideas of the sovereignty of the state… by not providing as it is Constitutionally required and citizens taking up those roles,” she says.

To listen to Faiti, in conversation with CapeTalk’s Clarence Ford, use the audio player below: