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Twelve Service delivery protests in South Africa: a case for community development?

  • Lucius Botes
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Abstract

This chapter takes the local community landscape of South Africa as backdrop and focuses on the rolling service delivery protests that started in 2004, ten years into the new democracy. It explores the idea that such forms of political action should be viewed as a phenomenon of community development and it considers the kinds of issues and concerns that animate these locally based protests. Critiques of the managerial or programmatic turn in community development often point to the associated de-politicisation of its theory and practice. This chapters sets out to achieve two aims. Firstly, to provide a descriptive overview of the current upsurge in community protests in South Africa as manifestations of civil society’s response to service delivery deficiencies and the unaccountability of South Africa’s young democracy. Secondly, to explain how notions of linking power and community development could help in understanding a potential nexus for service delivery protests and community development work.

Abstract

This chapter takes the local community landscape of South Africa as backdrop and focuses on the rolling service delivery protests that started in 2004, ten years into the new democracy. It explores the idea that such forms of political action should be viewed as a phenomenon of community development and it considers the kinds of issues and concerns that animate these locally based protests. Critiques of the managerial or programmatic turn in community development often point to the associated de-politicisation of its theory and practice. This chapters sets out to achieve two aims. Firstly, to provide a descriptive overview of the current upsurge in community protests in South Africa as manifestations of civil society’s response to service delivery deficiencies and the unaccountability of South Africa’s young democracy. Secondly, to explain how notions of linking power and community development could help in understanding a potential nexus for service delivery protests and community development work.

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