A key component of the Asivikelane hub model is to work with a broader set of stakeholders engaged in specific service issues. Even though this new model is only six months old, it has already borne fruit. Over the past 6 months, Asivikelane impacted 1,785,601 residents. We impacted 381,000 residents through service delivery improvements and 1,404,601 residents through systems impacts, such as budget, process or policy improvements.
Asivikelane 37 Better waste management will make settlements safer. A third of residents reported no waste collection services in the previous week, which has environmental and health impacts.
We analyse the service delivery progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report for Asivikelane 32 per municipality.
We analyse the service delivery progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report for Asivikelane 31 per municipality.
We analyse the service progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report for Asivikelane 30 per municipality.
We analyse the service delivery progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report for Asivikelane 28 per municipality.
We analyse the service delivery progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report for Asivikelane 24 per municipality.
We analyse the service delivery progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report for Asivikelane 22 per municipality.
Metros
Click on the buttons below to see a summary of Asivikelane 21 per municipality.
Metros
We take a look at the maintenance puzzle in Asivikelane #18. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report of our latest release per municipality.
Metros
We analyse the service delivery progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report of our latest release per municipality.
Metros
NON-METROS
Join us on our first learning adventure as we unpack and identify the underlying causes of service delivery problems. In this publication, we look at waste removal and the reasons litter and garbage pile up in informal settlements. This series records what we’ve learned, so that we don’t forget and make the same mistakes again, and so that others can learn from our mistakes too.
We created a new procurement transparency assessment tool to evaluate how proactively municipalities share service-related procurement information.
Asivikelane Western Cape is laying the foundation for female-friendly sanitation in Knysna’s informal settlements. Asivikelane Community Facilitators carried out an initiative for separate toilets for males and females across 3 informal settlements and their efforts are helping to make sanitation safer for women and children.
Click below to view submissions to the different municipalities:
Asivikelane submitted recommendations and comments on the government’s proposed 2024 water and sanitation norms and standards. We found that such standards can often be met without allocating significant additional funding. Better use of existing funds often does the trick! Read our full submission to find out more.
Asivikelane submitted recommendations and comments on the government’s proposed 2024 water and sanitation norms and standards. We found that such standards can often be met without allocating significant additional funding. Better use of existing funds often does the trick! Read our full submission to find out more.
We created a procurement training guide for informal settlement residents to learn about ways to hold their municipalities accountable for service delivery.
Asivikelane’s new service delivery hubs are designed to find solutions to water, sanitation and solid waste problems in informal settlements. The hubs bring together informal settlement residents, government officials and other stakeholders such as chapter 9 institutions, infrastructure donors, private sector, service providers, and friends in national or provincial government. Contact us if you would like to join one of our hubs!
As Asivikelane enters its fourth year, we reflect on our impact over the years. We thank our residents, Community Facilitators, partners, donors and staff members who have all worked incredibly hard to improve service delivery in informal settlements. You can also read comments from the residents themselves over the last 6 months.
Asivikelane Western Cape 2023 Thank you for supporting us in 2023! We are pleased to report 240 service delivery improvements in water, sanitation, and solid waste services across informal settlements in Knysna and Stellenbosch!
Asivikelane Health 2023 Thanks to the unwavering commitment of Asivikelane Health supporters, including residents, fieldworkers, partners, staff, nurses, and government officials, the quality of care has improved at clinics across the Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay and OR Tambo health districts.
Asivikelane Health #22 Services at Buffalo City clinics have improved since Asivikelane Health launched in 2021. But many systemic challenges remain. Collaborative efforts could unlock solutions to these challenges.
Asivikelane Thank you! 2023 The participation and hard work of residents, Community Facilitators, partners, government officials and the Auditor General’s office has resulted in better basic service delivery and quality of life for informal settlement residents.
Asivikelane Western Cape #14 The municipalities of Knysna and Stellenbosch are slow to repair broken services in informal settlements. This results in the overuse of functional facilities, and some women express concerns about the safety and accessibility of alternative water and sanitation services.
Asivikelane Health #21 We are encouraged to see progress in services at the 45 clinics that are part of Asivikelane Health. However, we want all clinics to improve. To achieve this, the EC Department of Health needs to allocate more resources to clinics.
Asivikelane Western Cape #13 Sanitation availability has improved in Knysna and Stellenbosch. But communal toilets are not accessible to everyone, and residents urge municipalities to improve sanitation access, hygiene and safety.
We asked 260 informal settlement residents in the City of Ekurhuleni about their experiences of the procurement of chemical toilets, and to give recommendations to the metro on how to improve this service.
This research paper argues that gender-responsive procurement should be inclusive of the voices and needs of women. This will have far-reaching benefits by ensuring safer and healthier access to basic services for women, children and other vulnerable groups living in informal settlements in South Africa.
Asivikelane Western Cape #12 Residents want to be included in decision-making about services. They ask Knysna and Stellenbosch municipalities for regular community meetings to solve service delivery challenges.
Asivikelane continues to impact the lives of many informal settlement residents through improved basic services such as water, sanitation, and refuse removal. This report also includes comments from the residents themselves.
Asivikelane #37 Better waste management will make settlements safer. A third of residents reported no waste collection services in the previous week, which has environmental and health impacts.
Asivikelane Health #19 The EC Health Department is now drafting its 2024/25 budget. We asked 446 residents who regularly use clinics what they think this budget should prioritise for Primary Health Care services.
Following on from the 2021 report, “How transparent is municipal procurement?”, this report finds 3 main reasons why municipalities are not publishing procurement information on their websites and eTender portals as required. The report also gives recommendations on how to overcome these challenges to enhance transparency.
Asivikelane #36: Mangaung Mangaung Metro’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 13 informal settlements tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Asivikelane Western Cape #11 Knysna and Stellenbosch’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 60 informal settlements in Knysna and 9 informal settlements in Stellenbosch tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Asivikelane #36: City of Tshwane City of Tshwane’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 16 informal settlements tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Asivikelane #36: City of Cape Town City of Cape Town’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 64 informal settlements tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Asivikelane #36: Nelson Mandela Bay Nelson Mandela Bay’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 15 informal settlements tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Asivikelane #36: Ekurhuleni Ekurhuleni’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 46 informal settlements tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Asivikelane #36: Buffalo City Buffalo City Metro’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 10 informal settlements and sections tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Asivikelane Health #18 70% of Asivikelane Health participants are parents or guardians. 92% of residents believe that vaccines boost children’s immune systems. With the risk of measles outbreak high, clinics can protect children by making vaccines more accessible.
Asivikelane #36: City of Johannesburg The City of Johannesburg’s 2023/24 draft budget is out for comment. Residents from 58 informal settlements tell us what they want to see in the final budget.
Click below to view submissions to the different municipalities:
Asivikelane Western Cape #10 In Stellenbosch, the solid waste collection service has deteriorated, exposing residents to numerous health risks.
40% of women in Knysna’s informal settlements use chemical toilets. For many of them, this is an unsafe form of sanitation. In Stellenbosch, the solid waste collection service has deteriorated, exposing residents to numerous health risks. We advise both municipalities on how to fix these service delivery issues.
Asivikelane Health #17 Two-thirds of women arrive at clinics before the doors open. They feel unsafe waiting outside, especially in areas with high crime rates. Asivikelane Health #17 advises clinics on actions they can take to help protect women.
Asivikelane #35 Data exposes the hot spots where basic services need attention, and celebrates the good news where services have improved.
This is a helpful guide on how to make communal services safer, more hygienic, and female-friendly.
This guide outlines how municipalities can be more inclusive and specifically prioritise the needs of women when procuring basic services for informal settlements.
A social audit is a community-led process that facilitates public participation in the monitoring of government service delivery and expenditure
Asivikelane Western Cape #9 Many residents in Knysna and Stellenbosch informal settlements remain without access to water, sanitation or refuse removal and these services are not fixed when they break. Asivikelane asks these municipalities to set aside enough money in their upcoming budgets for basic services and for repairs and maintenance of communal taps and toilets.
Asivikelane #34 Many informal settlement residents do not have access to water, sanitation or refuse removal and these services are not fixed when they break. Asivikelane asks metros to set aside enough money in their upcoming budgets for basic services and for repairs and maintenance of communal taps and toilets.
Read about the impact Asivikelane has had in informal settlement communities through improved water, sanitation and refuse removal during the second half of 2022.
Asivikelane Western Cape #8 We reflect on our progress and impacts in 2022, across Knysna and Stellenbosch informal settlements.
One of the biggest challenges affecting access to basic sanitation in informal settlements is poor repairs and maintenance. While there are informal settlements with no access to taps and toilets – several settlements have fewer taps and toilets to the ratio of residents – what is worse is that the majority of these are unusable because they are either broken or blocked.
Read the full brief
Asivikelane #33 We reflect on the year of 2022 and take a look at all our impacts and achievements.
Asivikelane Western Cape #7 shows that when municipalities engage residents it can yield progress in service delivery.
Asivikelane #32 Residents and officials in several metros find ways to address the issue of waste and litter in informal settlements. And this cooperation is showing results! Asivikelane residents reported 461 instances of improved refuse removal since January.
Asivikelane Health #14 Asivikelane Health data is a key input at clinic committee meetings. Residents are using it discuss gaps in services. Their advocacy is resulting in change.
We assess how much the City of Cape Town has allocated in its 2022/23 budget for the provision of basic services to informal settlements, specifically permanent taps and toilets, as well as electricity connections and public lighting.
Asivikelane Western Cape #6 calls on Knysna and Stellenbosch municipalities to step up basic services, especially the provision and cleaning of communal toilets.
Asivikelane #31 Metros fault reporting systems are not user-friendly and can’t locate broken taps and toilets. Despite ongoing efforts by informal settlement residents to report via the system, many said they wait longer than a month before anyone comes to fix them.
Women’s rights are human rights. Municipalities can protect these rights by putting the safety of women in informal settlements first. It can start by increasing the number of communal taps and toilets provided, fixing broken ones and improving lighting. Asivikelane Western Cape #5 shows that poor service delivery and maintenance exposes women to numerous risks and vulnerabilities.
Asivikelane 30 releases the Asivikelane Service Delivery Index for the first time. The index compares service delivery across metros in one easy number. Ekurhuleni leads the way with a score of 83%, while both Mangaung (21%) and eThekwini (36%) fall far short of delivering the three essential services to informal settlement residents in their metros.
Asivikelane Western Cape #4 shows that consistent engagement between government and communities is starting to yield progress.
Asivikelane #29 reports that better response from metros to disasters is needed in informal settlements. Faster access to disaster services and speedier damage assessment and repairs will lay the foundations for resilient cities.
In this special release, 417 informal settlement residents in 81 settlements in eThekwini share their experience of the Metro’s response to the floods. They report that, in most cases, the damage to taps and toilets has not been repaired. While they wait for these repairs, the Metro has also provided limited emergency water and almost no emergency sanitation.
Over the last 6 months Asivikelane has impacted informal settlement communities through improved water, sanitation and refuse removal.
This month, Asivikelane Western Cape focuses on water access and quality in Knysna and Stellenbosch informal settlements. Residents share more about these issues and offer suggestions for what the municipalities can do about it.
Asivikelane #28 reports a positive response to informal settlement residents’ budget submissions in most metros. Increased budget allocations have resulted in improved service delivery in some metros, while metros that reduced allocations have seen a sharp decline.
Western Cape informal settlement residents set the agenda for talks with municipality. The number of Asivikelane Western Cape participants is growing in Knysna and Stellenbosch, and more informal settlement residents are ready to meet government about services.
Asivikelane #27: Informal settlement residents look at draft budgets from all 8 metros and tell us what changes they want to see.
Click below to view submissions to the different municipalities:
We are excited to publish results from the first round of the revamped Asivikelane Western Cape pilot. This initiative will deepen the engagement between informal settlement residents and government in the Stellenbosch and Knysna municipalities specifically.
The 2 releases highlight the needs identified by residents themselves. Residents ask for a functional fault reporting system, in Knysna, and regular maintenance and repairs in Stellenbosch. This will inform the agenda of upcoming engagements with these municipalities.
Asivikelane #26 reports that metros are improving informal settlement services on a much larger scale than before. Especially in metros where officials are communicating with informal settlement residents. Residents are also doing all they can to participate in metro budget hearings.
Asivikelane Health #9 Asivikelane Health participants are making change happen at 25 clinics in Buffalo City and OR Tambo Health Districts. Building on this success we expand to Nelson Mandela Bay next month, eyeing national coverage in future.
Asivikelane #25 reports that now is the time for mayors to budget adequately for repairs and maintenance of taps and toilets, since many informal settlement residents are still without water and sanitation.
Asivikelane Health #8 Clinics have green lights for the basic functions. They should now focus on specialised services like ‘Happy Hour’ for young people to access much needed sexual and reproductive health care.
Asivikelane #24 reports that metros keep installing but not maintaining and repairing taps and toilets, meaning that informal settlement residents continue to be without adequate services.
Asivikelane Health #7 The 4th wave is not over in the Eastern Cape. Our first release of 2022 spotlights implementable measures that government can take to increase vaccination rates in the province.
This guide helps you to develop a social audit questionnaire that will collect evidence or information that will be easy to capture and analyse, and will provide accurate and representative findings and recommendations that can be used to engage with government.
Between July and December 2021 Asivikelane continued to impact communities across South Africa through improved services.
Asivikelane Health #6 Clinics are innovating to cope with the impact of COVID-19. But they call on national and provincial government for sustainable solutions to resource constraints.
In this final Asivikelane WC report for 2021, informal settlement residents have yet again urged local government to listen and respond to their urgent pleas for safer and more hygienic sanitation. Communities are saying that they have practical, short-term solutions that are simple for government to implement; yet able to drastically improve dignified sanitation for all.
For this edition of Asivikelane #23, we ask informal settlement residents themselves what sanitation they need.
45% of residents living in informal settlements surveyed said that when taps or toilets break, they are never fixed. We take a look into what the possible reasons behind this lack of maintenance are.
Following on from the 2020 report on transparency of municipal websites, this report focuses on transparency in local government procurement. The report provides key steps to enhance transparency in local government procurement and makes a case for open contracting. It explains why municipal websites are crucial for transparent local government and pro-poor service delivery.
Asivikelane Health #5 This month we report improvements in service delivery at clinics, which has led to a significant reduction in waiting times. Clinic managers say that engaging residents through Asivikelane Health has motivated them to do better.
Asivikelane WC release #7 In this month’s Asivikelane Western Cape report, informal settlement residents are sending a clear message – their communities are not safe, the shared toilets are dirty and poorly located and the lack of public lighting puts them at risk of being assaulted.
Asivikelane Health #4 Asivikelane Health has expanded to include 15 more clinics in Buffalo City and OR Tambo District. Many of the new clinics are highly inefficient. Long waiting times impacts residents’ well-being. We identify steps that clinics can take to address this.
The first 100 days after elections are crucial. Asivikelane #22 looks at what new municipalities should focus on to improve basic services in informal settlements.
Asivikelane WC release #6 reveals that the state of toilets in some informal settlements are so bad, that residents opt to use the bush instead. With local government elections happening in the next few weeks, voters should think critically about the level of service delivery in their communities.
Asivikelane #21: 10 million people live in informal settlements. Their services should be central to the campaign of every political party. Yet, while political parties campaign, informal settlement services stagnate and deteriorate.
Despite improvements, COVID-19 continues to hamper clinic services. The third Asivikelane Health release shows an overall improvement in waiting times. However, some clinics struggle to provide adequate services due to the pressure of COVID-19.
Asivikelane Western Cape #5 calls on Knysna and Stellenbosch to keep women safe by providing taps and toilets that are well-lit and closer to where they live.
Asivikelane #20 shows that for women access to basic services in informal settlements is closely tied to safety. We report on the experience of women where poor basic service delivery exposes them to many vulnerabilities and risks.
80 patients to one nurse: residents carry cost of inefficiencies at Buffalo City clinics. The second Asivikelane Health release highlights the burden of capacity shortages at clinics. 29% of residents spent more than 3 hours at the clinic at their last visit and half the clinics did not open on time.
The recent events in South Africa have clearly highlighted the fact that many communities are disillusioned and frustrated by a government that seemingly does not care. Asivikelane WC#4 says that this perception can be changed if municipalities start with small actions like fixing taps and toilets.
Having restored peace and calm after last week’s events, government must work to restore the peoples’ trust. Asivikelane #19 outlines some recommendations on how they can do so.
Asivikelane Health release #1 The inaugural Asivikelane Health release highlights the impact of community advocacy across 10 Buffalo City clinics where access to services and medicine has improved. Long wait times at clinics however remains a problem. In months to come we plan to expand this pilot and test the model in other clinics in the Eastern Cape.
Between January and June 2021 Asivikelane has impacted many communities across South Africa with improved service delivery.
Asivikelane Western Cape release #3 is a red zone! 64% of residents reported that communal toilets are either blocked, damaged or non-functional. Alarmingly, it takes the municipality up to 3 months to fix toilets and taps say 60% of residents. The critical need for effective maintenance systems is emphasised again and especially at this crucial time as the 3rd wave of Covid-19 is underway.
Asivikelane #18 reports 45% of residents say that when a tap or toilet breaks, they are never fixed. Another 30% say that it takes longer than a week for maintenance to happen. We don’t yet know why. But here are some elements of the puzzle.
We analyse the service delivery progress on a municipal level. Click on the buttons below to see a summary report for Asivikelane 16 per municipality.
METROS
NON-METROS
The Metro Open Budget Survey (Metro OBS) is modelled on the global Open Budget Survey (OBS) initiated by the International Budget Partnership in 2006. The Metro OBS goes a level deeper by applying the OBS methodology to local government, and assesses the three pillars of budget accountability, namely transparency, public participation and oversight.
Asivikelane Western Cape release #2 reports green, or mostly green, traffic lights for water and waste collection but the same is not true for sanitation. Residents struggle with insufficient numbers of toilets, irregular cleaning of communal toilets and blocked sewer lines.
Click below to view submissions to the different municipalities:
On the surface Asivikelane #17 traffic lights appear bad. But if you take the time to look closely, you will see many green shoots of service delivery improvement starting to sprout.
In Asivikelane Western Cape release #1 this week most informal settlement residents reported having access to water, but sanitation remains a serious challenge. In addition to posing severe health risks, the lack of maintenance and cleaning of toilets could undermine municipalities’ infrastructure investment.
Asivikelane #16 reports many examples of the delivery of new taps and toilets, repairs to these services, improved toilet cleaning and better waste collection in several communities. But overall the situation remains dire as not a single municipality scored a green light.
Asivikelane #15 reports that upgrading projects are failing to deliver. Half of residents have been promised, but have not received, services.
Flip through our Asivikelane Profiles tribute book.
Asivikelane #14 reports that water, sanitation and refuse removal services in informal settlements have deteriorated all over the country in the last few months, with not a single green traffic light for metro service delivery.
To help prepare for the tabling of 2021/22 local government budgets, we conducted analyses of the 2020/21 budgets of the cities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and eThekwini Metro Municipality.
This analysis of the 2020/2021 budget of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality focuses on allocations for basic services in informal settlements where the threat of the virus’s spread is greater than in other areas.
Asivikelane was initiated in April 2020; we take a look at the impacts that we made in 9 months!
Planact and IBP South Africa conducted a community monitoring exercise in which we compared the information in the water schedule with the experiences of the residents in the settlements.
This report focuses on transparency in local government procurement and presents the findings of a survey of municipal websites.
What is the City of Johannesburg’s adopted 2020/21 budget telling us?
Metros: As 2020 comes to a close, release #13 focused on what municipalities and the Asivikelane campaign should do in 2021.
Non-Metros: In release #13, some municipalities have responded, but access to water and sanitation remains limited.
Exposure to social, economic and health risks is common when living in informal settlements, but gender inequalities result in a lack of basic services disproportionately affecting the lives of women and girls.
As the last six months of Asivikelane data show, large numbers of Cape Town informal settlement residents share communal taps and toilets, and these high-use facilities are not sufficiently maintained. These challenges were highlighted by COVID-19, but they preceded it and will persist and escalate unless the City of Cape Town responds on a much larger scale.
Metros: While national government reduced conditional grants to some metros, they all benefited from the R11 billion increase in equitable share funding in the national adjustments budget approved in August. Consequently, we see an overall increase in spending, but not for informal settlement services. The result is that services to informal settlements are slowing down or, in some cases, even declining.
Non-Metros: Some improvements have been noted in Witzenberg, but not much has changed in the non-metro municipalities. Access to all 3 services remains a challenge in many municipalities, with access to water and sanitation particularly concerning.
Metros: Up to 45% of informal settlement residents contracted the coronavirus in the first wave. The sharp increase in the number of red traffic lights in Asivikelane 11 makes us worry that the second wave of infections will start and spread in informal settlements.
Non-Metros: The situation in non-metro municipalities remains stable with reasonable access to water, but with a few persistent crisis points in toilet cleaning and refuse removal. After the situation was initially dire, Witzenberg has provided consistent water and refuse removal.
Attribution is a dubious science and the causes of change in government are complex. We do, however, think that there are important reasons why we can claim to have contributed in some way to the service delivery improvements listed in this report.
Metros: Asivikelane has reported many persistent service delivery problems in informal settlements – some of which have yet not been addressed. Additionally, informal settlement residents are even more dependent on government services than before with more than 40% of households losing income due to COVID-19.
Non-Metros: Msunduzi and Emalahleni have improved their water access significantly, while other municipalities have maintained their green lights. However, in many municipalities refuse removal and toilet cleaning remain at crisis levels.
An analysis of the City of Ekurhuleni 2020/21 budget, what is it telling us?
Metros: More than half of the Western Cape’s COVID-19 infections are found in Cape Town neighborhoods that contain informal settlements which are hotspots for infection because they don’t have enough taps and toilets, and these communal facilities are not cleaned often enough. While all metros have responded to the immediate crisis, Asivikelane results point to longer term service challenges.
Non-Metros: Residents in all non-metros reported improved access to basic services, especially water, but Emalahleni and Msunduzi still fall short across all the services. Most concerning in these municipalities is the limited water access, the lack of municipal provided sanitation and lack of toilet cleaning where residents do have access to municipal toilets
Two-thirds of Asivikelane participants are women and most of them say that there is not enough public lighting in their informal settlements. On the bright side, most metros now have green traffic lights for water however sanitation is still at critical levels. We hope that metros will use their share of the R11 billion of additional equitable share funding announced by Minister Mboweni, as well as reprioritised conditional grant funding, to address this problem.
This brief summarizes what metros have reported for the delivery of basic services – water, sanitation, refuse collection and soap or sanitiser – in informal settlements, as well as what they reported in terms of food parcels or other forms of nutritional support for households.
This brief presents information collected during May 2020 about the food security initiatives and plans of government and the Solidarity Fund, particularly with regard to the provision of food parcels and food vouchers.
Metros: Two-thirds of Asivikelane participants are women and most of them say that there is not enough public lighting in their informal settlements. On the bright side, most metros now have green traffic lights for water however sanitation is still at critical levels. We hope that metros will use their share of the R11 billion of additional equitable share funding announced by Minister Mboweni, as well as reprioritised conditional grant funding, to address this problem.
Non-Metros: While there are still too many red lights, almost all non-metro municipalities have improved their services to informal settlements.
Metros: The provision of sanitation in metro informal settlements has not improved and remains at crisis levels everywhere except Ekurhuleni. Some residents have no access to sanitation and where communal toilets are provided, they are not regularly cleaned or maintained. This situation should be addressed immediately to slow down the exponential spread of COVID-19 in Gauteng and the Eastern and Western Cape.
Non-Metros: While the water situation looks better, toilet cleaning and refuse removal in non-metro informal settlements are still extremely limited. Cederberg, Emalahleni and Msunduzi, for example, do no cleaning of communal toilets at all.
Over recent weeks, the Western Cape has emerged as the epicentre of the COVID-19 virus. On 26 May, the province accounted for 65.2% of South Africa’s 24,264 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Many of these residents rely on shared water and sanitation facilities or have limited access to water and sanitation, making them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. Sub-districts such as Tygerberg, Khayelitsha, and Southern – home to many informal settlements – have emerged as COVID-19 hotspots.
Release six shows that the good working relationship between Asivikelane and eThekwini, Ekurhuleni and Buffalo City is reflected in the service delivery improvements in those metros. The Asivikelane campaign keeps growing, with 181 informal settlements now participating and separate results for the first time for non-metro municipalities.
Over half a million of Johannesburg’s 5.8 million people live in 181 informal settlements. The number of COVID-19 cases in the city increased rapidly from 971 on 6 May to 1,153 on 15 May, a jump of 20 per cent in less than 2 weeks. Shared water and toilet facilities make Johannesburg’s informal settlement residents extremely vulnerable to infection. Residents participating in the Asivikelane initiative have reported dire water and sanitation problems over the last 6 weeks. Their efforts to engage with the city have met with a slow response.
Release #5 highlights that the National Treasury gave metros R2.4bn in unspent funding for informal settlement water, sanitation and refuse removal! However, broken, clogged, and irregularly cleaned toilets remain a problem in many areas.
Incwadana Yokwenza Uphicotho Ntlala eMzantsi Afrika
This step-by-step guide will help you conduct a social audit in your community from start to finish.
Umhlahlandlela Wasekhukhwini Wo Kuhlolwa Kwezenhlalakahle eNingizimu Afrika
Data from release #4 shows a concerning uptick in COVID-19 infections in the past 2 weeks and many settlements still don’t have consistent access to water or clean toilets. But, in better news, masks, soap and sanitiser have been distributed across many settlements along with protective clothing so residents can clean toilets.
Data from release #3 shows improvements in some settlements with water shortages, broken taps and toilets being fixed. However, the cleaning of communal toilets remains at crisis proportions and could contribute to the spread of COVID-19 if left unaddressed.
Data from release #2 reveals some settlements are still experiencing issues with access to water, clean toilets and waste removal. However, there have been improvements, and the Minister of Human Settlements has asked for a briefing on week 1 data.
Release #1 is in with good and bad news on access to water, clean toilets and waste removal.
Asivikelane has created sanitation posters with guidelines for informal settlement residents to avoid the transmission of coronavirus in shared toilets. The posters are free to download and are available in multiple languagues.
This research examines the findings of social audits, provider bid specifications, and interviews with municipal officials to identify the systemic causes of outsourced service delivery challenges and outlines several issues local governments could address to improve service delivery to informal settlements at scale.
This paper provides a detailed overview of the minimum level of procurement information metropolitan municipalities should be publishing on their supply chain management websites to support public engagement in the monitoring of the delivery of outsourced services and engagement in the tender process.
This note reviews the Auditor General’s findings on local governments for 2017/18 from the perspective of informal settlement residents in metropolitan municipalities.
The 2019 National Budget introduced new funding mechanisms to channel funding to municipalities for the provision of basic services to and the upgrading of informal settlements.
Six hundred thousand informal settlement residents will receive better quality sanitation services as a result of community-led monitoring and engagement in Ekurhuleni. In 2018, the International Budget Partnership South Africa (IBPSouth Africa) and the Social Audit Network (SAN), started partnering with Planact and 13 informal settlement communities in Ekurhuleni to conduct a social audit on the provision and maintenance of portable toilets. A social audit is a community-led process of engaging government about poor services by monitoring service delivery on the basis of government commitments contained in budgets and other official documents.
This guide is designed to help informal settlement communities find the documents that provide information about a service being delivered to their community. They can use this information to monitor if the service is being delivered according to the contract and to engage with the municipality to improve the delivery of the service.
The Mpukunyoni Tendele coal mining social audit reviewed crucial documents to determine whether mine expenditure and service delivery outcomes promised by the mine truly reflected the money spent and the experiences in the mining community.
This social audit covers a number of communities that fall under the same sanitation contract. This scaled-up approach allowed us to move beyond site-specific sanitation problems and to identify common problems with the delivery of outsourced temporary sanitation in Ekurhuleni.
The social audit focussed on the desludging of pits and Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) toilets in Thembelihle, a service that is delivered by Supreme Sanitation (Pty) Ltd. Residents experienced a number of problems with the delivery of this service and decided to collect information through a social audit to enable a constructive, evidence-based discussion with the municipality about how these issues might be resolved.
This report presents the findings from a social audit following the rural community of Glenmore’s dissatisfaction with a refurbishment project around their sports field. The report establishes if the specifications of the Engqushwa Municipality tender for the Glenmore sports complex were adhered to, or if any deviations were recorded, by the contractor.
IBP South Africa, the SASDI Alliance, and the eMalandeni community begin to see results from ongoing community-led monitoring and engagement with eThekwini Municipality.
This paper presents 2 possible approaches to the design of a learner transport grant that will, over time, enable South African provinces to provide learner transport to all learners in need, and ensure that funding is protected for the delivery of this service.
This social audit conducted an inspection of the Glenmore sports complex with an objective to establish if the specifications of the Engqushwa Municipality tender were adhered to, or any deviations were recorded, by the contractor.
An analysis of the 2017/18 City of Cape Town budget to identify spending on informal settlement settlements.
Financing the upgrading of informal settlements in South Africa is complex. However, understanding how this process works is very important because it enables civil society and local residents to engage with all three levels of government on the funding of informal settlement upgrading.
This brief describes how four South African metropolitan municipalities — Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, the City of Cape Town, the City of Ekurhuleni, and the City of Johannesburg — finance the upgrading of informal settlements.
This paper has been prepared for the International Budget Partnership (IBP) following discussions on questions that were put forward by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the public basic education space about what budget and expenditure information is available on the public basic (school) education function in South Africa. This document provides responses to specific information requests put forward by different CSOs, indicating where information can be found (where publicly available) or who in government is likely to be able to provide the information. If the information is not available, suggestions are made as to what might be done to improve the collection of expenditure data so that the information would become available in future.
This paper has been prepared for the International Budget Partnership (IBP) following discussions on questions that were put forward by Civil Society Organisations in the public basic education space about what budget and expenditure information is available on the public basic (school) education function in South Africa.
This brief looks at the impact of South Africa’s 2016/17 health budget on children.
This brief looks at education budgets. It first presents and describes a set of key indicators. It then describes the structure of provincial budgets and source of funds. This is followed by discussion on budgeting for the foundation years, teachers, teaching and learning support materials, Grade R, and infrastructure
This brief looks at social developments budgets. It first presents and describes a set of key indicators. It then discusses how much provinces allocate for children’s services, and budgeting for prevention and early intervention services, early child development services, non-profit organisations that deliver children’s services, and child grants.
This brief presents the macro picture of the 2016 government budget and its likely impact on children.
This report presents the findings of the social audit conducted in Wattville informal settlement investigating the hiring, delivery and maintenance of chemical toilets in Ekurhuleni Metro Municipality.
This report presents the findings of a social audit in Spring Valley informal settlement, in Emalahleni Local Municipality, following the Spring Valley residents’ dissatisfaction with water service delivery in the settlement.
This report covers the findings of a social audit looking at access to basic sanitation in Monwabisi Park, an informal settlement in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
The International Budget Partnership (IBP) and the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) commissioned Cornerstone Economic Research to develop a model to cost sanitation upgrade scenarios for informal settlements in Cape Town.
A graphic presentation of the City’s 2016/17 electricity budget.
The Vote4thebudget initiative provided an online platform for the public to express their opinion on the 2016/17 national budget.
This note explores what information the South African government needs to publish to enable effective public monitoring of the delivery of food security through South Africa’s Social Relief of Distress (SRD) program.
This note explores what information the government needs to publish to enable the effective public monitoring of the delivery of mental health services.
This note explores what information needs to be published by government to enable the public to monitor the delivery of school infrastructure.
Government departments need to follow legally defined procedures when purchasing goods and services from the private sector. The goal is to achieve fair value with public funds but when procurement fails, service delivery suffers. Late or poor-quality goods and services affect people’s lives directly. This guide equips civil society organisations and interested readers to monitor public procurement. Effective oversight can enhance service delivery, reduce corruption, and promote public participation.
This social audit covers the school conditions of 200,000 students in more than 200 schools in over 20 different communities in Gauteng, representing 10% of schools in informal settlements.
This social audit follows the relocation of a community from Skandaalkamp to Wolwerivier, and articulates the challenges that residents face, in order to help the residents engage with the City of Cape Town.
This social audit investigates whether the tender specifications in the provision of chemical toilets were adhered to, and whether the workers were given the correct training and equipment.
IBP South Africa and the Budget Monitoring Expenditure Forum published this Citizens’ Adjustment Budget 2014/15 – an easy-to-use key to unlocking the government’s very technical Adjustments Budget.
We undertook a week-long social audit on the janitorial service for communal flush toilets in four informal settlements. This culminated in a public hearing where community members asked their leaders the question: why is a highly funded service that could have a major positive impact on people’s lives not being fully delivered?
This report holds government accountable for refuse collection and settlement cleaning, culminating in a public hearing where community members asked the City of Cape Town why they are paying millions of rands for a service that is not being delivered.
A week-long social audit that investigated whether Mshengu Services – a provider of more than 5,000 communal toilets – is delivering on obligations outlined in their contract. The findings suggest that the City of Cape Town is failing to monitor Mshengu and other contractors, leading to wasteful expenditure and human rights violations.
This document lays out the main elements of social audits in India and consolidates lessons from the exchange. We hope that it will serve as a resource for other CSOs interested in exploring this methodology.
