South Africa is lauded internationally for its recognition of water as a human right, adoption of a free basic water policy, and impressive water services delivery statistics. However, domestic news reports focus on poor and rapidly diminishing water quality, as evident in irregular cholera outbreaks; citizen frustration with poor service delivery that erupts in almost daily protests; and municipalities struggling to respond to numerous localised crises of delivery relating to failed infrastructure, management and oversight/regulation. Clearly, despite significant progress around a range of delivery goals in the past fifteen years, considerable challenges remain, including those related to people who are still unserved. Stakeholders are locked in debate around issues related to cost recovery, service delivery levels and indigent policies, which escalated to litigation reaching the Constitutional Court.

The Water Dialogues-South Africa (WD-SA) has been a shared attempt by stakeholders to move past ideological polarisation, and to examine the successes and challenges in the delivery of water and sanitation services by a range of providers. Under the strategic direction of a wide range of stakeholders around the table, WD-SA undertook an extensive primary research programme on how various institutional approaches in South Africa affect the quality of service delivery. Although linked to a global initiative focusing on the role of the private sector, their starting point was the importance of ensuring strong delivery of water and sanitation by the public sector.


Evidence from eight in depth case studies served as the basis for stakeholders to engage in an iterative dialogue around the complex challenges facing the water services sector in South Africa. Four years of research by WD-SA provided evidence of the need to address the high level of municipal dysfunction and to promote an overall paradigm shift if we are to ensure effective, equitable and sustainable delivery of water supply and sanitation provided affordably to all. Details of research appear in the WD-SA synthesis report, case study reports, and the DVD.