Improving service delivery has been at the core of South Africa’s development cooperation over the past, but remains a major challenge. While the public financial management (PFM) system is well-developed in South Africa, the transmission into efficient and effective service delivery is a critical bottleneck. Around one third of the South African households still lack functioning access to water. This lack of service delivery improvements is a key limitation of PFM reform in South Africa and is particularly pronounced in informal settlements.

Residents of informal settlements in metropolitan areas and secondary cities in South Africa benefit from improved access to basic public services through an improved PFM system and processes. This is achieved through four core components of the project: i) monitoring and collecting evidence about service delivery, ii) training of informal settlement residents, iii) diagnostic research on PFM and service delivery blockages, as well as iv) curating space for residents to engage government using their capacities, service delivery evidence and diagnostic research.

Budget allocations and implementation improvements that enable more and better informal settlement services, e.g. through

a. Increased budget allocation to basic services in informal settlements by metros and secondary cities.

b. Increased funding to metros and secondary cities by national governments intended to improve basic service delivery to informal settlements.

c. Improved budgetary and procurement processes that enhance basic service delivery in informal settlements.

d. Improved national regulations that govern metro and secondary city spending on basic service delivery to informal settlement.

Replication of multi-stakeholder partnership processes or budget allocations and implementation improvements

Expected results:  

CSOs and informal settlement residents engage government to discuss budgets, budget implementation and services for informal settlements

CSOs and informal settlement residents are trained to participate in multi-stakeholder partnerships and related processes

Analytical work on the state of government’s informal settlement service delivery produced.

Documentation and events to support replication of multi-stakeholder partnerships and innovation

Results from previous phases:  

In the first phase, the project achieved both substantial direct service delivery impacts and started to induce changes to the PFM system.

Since its inception, the project has contributed to improved services to almost 4 million residents by improving access to water, sanitation as well as refuse removal.

It has trained over 18’000 residents, facilitated government engagements in all eight metros, two local municipalities and brought a network of over 500 informal settlements into these engagements.

On systemic level, the initiative has also impacted on changes at various levels of the PFM system, such as new and larger budget allocations , changes in metro budget structures, changes in procurement systems and tender specifications, as well as changes in government behavior.