Do service delivery protests actually work?

by Chris Kamalski

 

 

We drive these streets weekly!

We drive these streets weekly!

There was a really important opinion piece in Cape Argus a few days ago explaining why service delivery protests in Philippi (one of the communities in the Cape Flats we work within) simply don’t work. We literally drive these streets weekly. When the lights were destroyed a few weeks ago, they put up temporary Stop Signs, which seemed like they should have just been left there. Interesting, no?

The money quote:

“The city spends upwards of R80 million a year repairing or replacing vandalised and stolen basic services. Ultimately, the communities themselves must stand up and make it clear that they will no longer accept the destruction of their shared services. We have to challenge & change the culture of destroying public services in South Africa. Until we do, we can only hope to inch our way forward in the delivery of basic services”

(Geordin Hill-Lewis, writing in the Cape Argus newspaper about Philippi  service delivery protests, the communities we work with in the Cape Flats)