South Africa

In South Africa, we fostered a powerful coalition of a dozen organizations that are part of the Asivikelane initiative, which has participants from over 500 informal settlements across 10 municipalities. Informal settlement residents respond to surveys about their access to water, clean toilets and waste removal, which are shared with municipal and national officials monthly. Together we have improved access to water and sanitation services for these residents.

Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

19

Budget Oversight

81

Transparency

86

Initiatives in South Africa

3.2m+

residents experienced improved access to water, sanitation and refuse removal

5,700

informal settlement residents collaborate on Asivikelane across the country

SPARK initiative

South Africa’s informal settlement residents

Summary

The International Budget Partnership forged a powerful coalition of allies to support informal settlement residents in demanding more accountable delivery of water and sanitation services. The coalition found that while metropolitan governments often have enough money in their budgets to improve water and sanitation services, they do not allocate enough of it to informal settlement residents, or adequately monitor gaps in service delivery that informal settlement residents regularly face. Asivikelane has recently expanded to monitor the delivery of basic health services.

Impacts to date:

Grew the number of partners in the coalition from three to 12, the number of municipalities monitored from five to 10, and the number of informal settlements participating from 65 to over 500.
Expanded the number of the informal settlement residents participating in Asivikelane’s monthly survey to 5,717 (of whom 65% are women).
Experienced improvements in access to water, sanitation and refuse removal for over 3.2 million residents.
Secured 1,689 instances of improved services in 2022.
Helped residents across 300 informal settlements analyze draft metro budgets and submit proposals for what services should be prioritized, including funding to repair taps and toilets and for recovery from natural disasters.
Monitored through Asivikelane Health 45 health clinics serving 562,500 people through monthly surveys completed by 450 clinic patients (of whom 86% are women)

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Strengthening Public Accountability

Our Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge (SPARK) program flips traditional public finance management work on its head by putting underserved communities at the center of budget advocacy.

I learned how to stand my ground and fight for my rights. I am now able to go to the municipality and tell them the demands of this community.

Beatrice Ditshego, informal settlement resident. Tweet

74%

of participants said Asivikelane Health had led to improvements in health clinics

Featured Network Members

Ndifuna Ukwazi

Partnership Initiative

South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

+ 27 (0) 21 423 3089

Centre for Economic Governance and AIDS in Africa (CEGAA)

Partnership Initiative

South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

+27 21 425 2852

Public Service Accountability Monitor (PSAM)

Partnership Initiative

South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

+27 46 603 8358

Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)

Partnership Initiative

South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa

+27 21 422 1700

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Featured resources

Strengthening Budget Credibility for Service Delivery

Learning Briefs: Building the capabilities of grassroots groups to collectively engage with fiscal governance systems

Accelerating SPARK during COVID-19

Stories of Change: How grassroots communities are securing vital services

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Examining Budget Credibility in South Africa’s Water and Sanitation Sector

This brief interrogates the budget credibility issues in South Africa’s water and sanitation sector over a five-year period (2017-2021) and analyses the impact of spending deviations on the delivery of programs within the water and sanitation sector.

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In 2018, we piloted a new approach in seven countries to equip grassroots communities with the skills to gain influence over budgets. This effort focused on Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa. In five years, we have proven that a bottom-up model works. We can tangibly improve the lives of underserved communities […]

Stories of Change: How grassroots communities are securing vital services

In 2018, we piloted a new approach in seven countries to equip grassroots communities with the skills to gain influence over budgets. This effort, Strengthening Public Accountability for Results and Knowledge (SPARK), focused on Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa. In five years, we have proven that a bottom-up model works. We […]

Case Study, Paper

South Africa: Budget Credibility and the Sustainable Development Goals

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Case Study, Paper

Connecting Budget Credibility to the Sustainable Development Goals

To explore the connections between budget credibility patterns and efforts to achieve the SDGs, IBP coordinated investigations into budget credibility patterns in government budgets by partners and IBP staff members in 13 countries from 2018 to 2020. This paper synthesizes the findings across the 13 country case studies, highlighting cross-cutting themes and trends that emerge from the data and analysis.

Budget Trailblazer

Budget Trailblazers: Nomfundiso Joseph

Each month, we shine a spotlight on partners who are using budget advocacy to bring transformational change to their communities. This month, we talked with Nomfundiso Joseph, coordinator of Small Projects Foundation, in South Africa. Q: Describe your organization’s role in Asivikelane Health project. A: My organization, Small Projects Foundation (SPF), is an […]

Promoting Transparency, Oversight and Participation in Budgeting during Emergencies

The benefits of open and accountable government are a longstanding focus of advocates of fiscal transparency. Fiscal accountability enables governments to ensure that public resources reach their targeted beneficiaries and achieve their intended policy outcomes. Government commitment to fiscal openness and accountability acquired renewed significance with the onset of COVID-19 and the introduction of related […]

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Virtual Event
Budget Credibility