In the News

[Report:] Republic of South Africa: National Progress Report in the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda. “Asivikelane’s project in Knysna is a model for gender-responsive urban
governance and basic services.”

[Article:] Mandela University’s Engagement Office was invited to participate in a national working committee meeting on sustainable waste management hosed by the Asivikelane initiative in Cape Town. This engagement formed part of a broader national conversation focused on strengthening inclusive, community-driven waste management models, particularly within informal settlements.

[Report:] Observe, Record, Report: Real-time citizen engagement with public procurement in South Africa. “IBPSA’s Asivikelane initiative elicits regular municipal responses to citizen-reported service failures. IBPSA’s Asivikelane transformed citizen feedback into municipal action during and after the COVID19 period, with monthly dashboards that make it difficult for officials to ignore. Building on this, IBPSA’s 2025 field study in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane provides empirical support for this trajectory.”

[Research report:] Community Action to Advance the Right to Water: Invited and invented participant strategies in South Africa. This report considers strategies that can be used by rural and other marginalised communities to advance water rights, with a focus on three case studies, one of them being Asivikelane.

[Interview:] Asivikelane partner Ikhaka le Africa speaks to Nelson Mandela Bay local radio station, Algoa FM about municipal infrastructure in the metro.

[Television documentary:] Bay of broken dreams. Investigative journalists at Carte Blanche speak to Asivikelane about the corruption and lack of service delivery in Nelson Mandela Bay.

[TV broadcast:] Nelson Mandela Bay residents are battling blocked drains and sewage overflows. Asivikelane partner Ikhaka Le Africa shares their experiences of the overflowing drains. Residents have been reporting sewage spillages on a daily basis, but without a response from the municipality. 

[Annual report:] “The City [of Tshwane] developed a comprehensive waste management strategy focusing on improving waste management services in informal settlements. As part of this strategy, [Tshwane is] fostering partnerships with renowned NPOs such as International Budgetary Fund [sic] which runs big campaigns such as “Asivikelane”. The support provided by this campaign not only includes waste management handling matters but also training and capacity building on understanding government systems in totality, improving safety and well-being by addressing matters related to safety concerns related to communal toilets, crime and support like counselling services to affected residents.”

IBP South Africa’s Senior Researcher Claudi Mailovich writes about fighting corruption in water and sanitation services.

Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodine concludes her oversight visit to Knysna as millions of rands are being pumped into urgent efforts to avert Day Zero. Leaks are losing 56% of water. “We are closing the gap with Asivikelane in our informal areas.”

Asivikelane empowers Sedgefield’s informal settlements with data-driven challenge (page 13).

Flooded and Forgotten: Informal settlements and the right to housing in South Africa

In 2024-25, strategic discussions with organisations such as Water Can, Asivikelane, Outa and Corruption Watch helped to amplify support for AGSA audit messages, especially those on the basic-services value chains. As they continue engagements with CSOs, AGSA remains guided by their constitutional mandate and the principles of integrity and independence, so as to always maintain the integrity of the institution.

Centering Community Voices: An Interview with Samke Phewa. Informal settlements are often overlooked, but not by Asivikelane Community Facilitator Samke Pewa. Through community-led data and advocacy, residents are pushing for real accountability and change. Her work shows that inclusive governance starts by treating people as partners, not problems.

Collaborative Governance Is Key to Climate Justice

Collaborating for Responsiveness? Asivikelane’s Evolving Approach to Community Engagement with Government to Improve Service Delivery in South Africa – Part 1

Collaborating for Responsiveness? Asivikelane’s Evolving Approach to Community Engagement with Government – Part 2

uKESA published Asivikelane’s learning paper Manage temporary sanitation in informal settlements: Lessons from Asivikelane on their website.

Making use of citizen-based monitoring approach to improve service delivery by municipalities

Asivikelane Community Facilitator Ludwe Qoshe was elected as Deputy Chair of the Knysna Water and Sanitation Community Forum. This forum serves as a mechanism for residents to raise concerns regarding water and sanitation services.

Page 179. Editors: Eric Gaisie, Patrick Brandful Cobbinah

‘Context is Everything’: Permutations of Gender Mainstreaming in the Public Service. Pamela Masiko-Kambala, Director of Infrastructure Policy and Research at Western Cape Government, Department of Infrastructure writes about the new guidelines on gender mainstreaming in informal settlements. Asivikelane is at the heart of this.

Plumbing boost for Knysna informal settlement residents

‘People need toilets now!’ – Asivikelane Campaign

In this Good Hood Story, Development Action Group (DAG) and Asivikelane, are working with the local communities of Knysna’s informal settlements to provide sanitation services that are well maintained, accessible and safe, especially for women and children. With the support of the Knysna Municipality, this project is delivering basic services that is responsive to the needs of the communities’ residents.

Asivikelane partner Tshwane Leadership Foundation, Pastor Joel Mxolisi Mayephu, was interviewed on live television for Newzroom Afrika ahead of the council sitting to appoint yet another new mayor in the City of Tshwane. He speaks about how informal settlement residents are suffering due  to political instability.

Page 92. Editors: Christopher C. Sonn, James Ferreira Moura Jr., Jesica Siham Fernández, Monica Eviandaru Madyaningrum, Nick Malherbe

Asivikelane Community leader Jabu Thela speaks to Newzroom Afrika about governance issues in Kwa-Thema, City of Ekurhuleni, after the metro was downgraded from three clean audits to an unqualified audit opinion.

Page 304. Author: Evan Lieberman

Mangaung informal settlements without water and toilets.

Community clean-up initiative in Concordia West.

By Philip Harrison, Alison Todes

Author: Karen Jennings

Publication: Social innovation as an approach to water delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic: case of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. Thesis for Master of Public Administration. Author: Takobe Tlale.

Asivikelane Senior Programme Officer Thando Mhlanga speaks to Madam Waste about the importance of service delivery in informal settlements and systematic changes.

13 May 2024

Thanks to assistance from the Asivikelane initiative, the proactiveness of the Knysna Municipality Waste Department, and the efforts of Sedgefield’s councillors, waste was collected and removed from the dunes in Sedgefield.

04 May 2024

SAFM Panel Discussion with Chumile Sali, IBP South Africa’s Senior Programme Officer, on Repairs and Maintenance of informal settlement services. SALGA was part of the panel.

In this op-ed, Karen Jennings speak about hopeful projects such as Asivikelane which empowers citizens by engaging them in the collection of data in their informal settlements. Data is collated by IBP South Africa and publicised and sent to local municipalities.

26 April 2024

Coalition council in South African local government.

26 April 2024

Chumile Sali, IBP South Africa’s Senior Programme Officer, speaks on national television station, Newzroom Africa, about sanitation challenges in Buffalo City. Following the tragic incident of a three-year-old drowning in a creche pit toilet in one of the informal settlements of Mdantsane.

25 April 2024

Empowering informal settlements through the correct channels.

23 April 2024

Chumile Sali, IBP South Africa’s Senior Programme Officer, speaks on national radio station SAFM about sanitation challenges in Buffalo City. Following the tragic incident of a three-year-old drowning in a creche pit toilet in one of the informal settlements of Mdantsane.

Community leader and activist at Asivikelane, Petunia Mabiza, tells African insider about the water issues in her community. Municipal water is trucked into Phomolong, but it’s often at times when people aren’t home. And sometimes the truck doesn’t come at all.

16 April 2024

Asivikelane Community Facilitators from our partner Common Cause speak on community radio in Buffalo City.

12 April 2024

Asivikelane Community Facilitators from our partner St James Apostolic Faith Mission speak on “The Unmute” community radio programme in Mangaung.

27 March 2024

A (tough) love letter to the Open Movement.

27 March 2024

Opening up about Open Government – many happy returns.

11 March 2024

How can Africa’s urban majority reframe sustainability agendas?

01 March 2024

Senior Programme Officer, Chumile Sali, speaks about the upcoming budget speech and what it will mean for access to basic services for informal settlement residents.

11 January 2024

Cleaning up the clinics in Buffalo City.