ALBERTON, EKURHULENI — A growing number of South Africans are increasingly forced to pay private companies for basic services that municipalities are mandated to provide, creating a severe double taxation burden on households. According to a 2024 PwC report, this trend highlights a systemic decline in local government service delivery, leaving residents to foot the bill twice: first through municipal taxes, and again out-of-pocket for essential private alternatives.
The report underscores a marked deterioration in municipal service delivery between 2019 and 2023. As local governments struggle to meet basic obligations, residents who can afford it have increasingly turned to private solutions. A prime example is the ongoing electricity crisis, which has driven many households to procure private solar energy installations. However, this reliance on privatized basic services significantly broadens the inequality gap between those who can afford alternative solutions and those who cannot.
These compounding service delivery failures are expected to be a decisive factor for voters heading to the polls in the November local government elections. The issue comes into sharp focus as the country marks the final weekend for in-person voter registration, with civic frustration reaching a boiling point over non-operational traffic lights, rampant potholes, and inconsistent utility provision.
Addressing these mounting concerns, Democratic Alliance leader Geordin Hill-Lewis is engaging directly with community members in Alberton, Ekurhuleni. He is joined by the party’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Helen Zille, to discuss grassroots service delivery grievances and outline the party’s strategy for municipal recovery.
The DA leadership is expected to contrast the current state of affairs in Johannesburg and other struggling municipalities with their governance record in the City of Cape Town, where the party has administered local government for an extended period. As a partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU), the Democratic Alliance faces mounting pressure to translate its policy proposals into tangible improvements for residents who are buckling under the pressure of service delivery failures across the country.
