Paper

Systemic Challenges Facing the Procurement of Outsourced Basic Services for Informal Settlements in South Africa

December 2018 | by Carlene van der Westhuizen, International Budget Partnership South Africa

In South African metropolitan municipalities, the provision of basic services like water, sanitation, and electricity to urban informal settlements is an ongoing struggle, but very little is known about what specifically goes wrong.

After years of working with community organizations to address issues related to service delivery in informal settlements, IBP South Africa and its civil society partners started to see patterns in issues stemming from outsourced providers.

This research examines the findings of social audits, provider bid specifications, and interviews with municipal officials to identify the systemic causes of outsourced service delivery challenges and outlines several issues local governments could address to improve service delivery to informal settlements at scale.

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Authors

Carlene van der Westhuizen

Head of Research, IBP South Africa, International Budget Partnership

Carlene van der Westhuizen joined the International Budget Partnership in May 2016 after working as a consultant for IBP since October 2014. Based in the Cape Town office, she works as the head of research for IBP’s Catalyst Program in South Africa.  From 2005 to 2013 she worked as a Senior Researcher at the Development Policy Research Unit, based at the University of Cape Town. She also previously worked as a Researcher at IDASA’s Budget Information Service and the Western Cape Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Wesgro). She holds an MA in Economics from the University of Stellenbosch.

About this resource
Related topics & Initiatives
Advocacy, Service Delivery, Subnational Budgets, Transparency
Related Countries & Regions
Sub-Saharan Africa