What we have learnt from post-1994 innovations in pro-poor service delivery in South Africa: a case study-based analysis

This paper is based partly on consultation work done under Servaas van der Berg on the effectiveness of alternative social delivery mechanisms – as commissioned by the World Bank for its World Development Report 2004.

Abstract

Service delivery is vital for alleviating poverty in South Africa. This paper contributes to the dialogue on how to maximise the impact of pro-poor service delivery by considering evidence from a wide selection of case studies to distinguish the successes and failures of post-1994 pro-poor service delivery. Case evidence brings to light four important points: that decentralisation and participation can reinforce historical distributions of privilege; that community ownership is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for effective service delivery to individuals in rural communities; that when managed well private outsourcing can benefit the poor; and that the abolition of user fees is often not the best way to ensure access to basic services. The paper cautions against overly ambitious and idealistic policy making. When a policy fails because of its lack of flexibility or its disregard for the constraints of the implementation context, this failure should be attributed to short-sighted policy making and not to implementation failure.

This paper is based partly on consultation work done under Servaas van der Berg on the effectiveness of alternative social delivery mechanisms – as commissioned by the World Bank for its World Development Report 2004.

The author is grateful to Megan Louw, Stan du Plessis, Servaas van der Berg and Rulof Burger for their comments. The usual disclaimer applies.

Notes

This paper is based partly on consultation work done under Servaas van der Berg on the effectiveness of alternative social delivery mechanisms – as commissioned by the World Bank for its World Development Report 2004.