Building a capable state: service delivery in post-apartheid South Africa

Giventhe signingof a new sustainable development goals in 2016, marking a new phase of global developmentthinking focused on ecologically and fiscally sustainable human settlements, fewcountries offer a better testing ground for their attainment thanpost-Apartheid South Africa. Since the coming to power of the African NationalCongress, the country has undergone a policy making revolution, driven by anurgent need to improve access to services for the country's black majority.

Twenty years on fromthe fall of Apartheid, Buildinga Capable State asks whatlessons can be learned from the South African experience. The book assesseswhether the South African government has succeeded in improving servicedelivery, focusing on the vital sectors of water and sanitation, energy, roadsand public transport. Emphasizing the often-overlooked role of local governmentinstitutions, the book demonstrates that effective service delivery can have aprofound effect on the social structure of emerging economies, and must form anintegral part of any future development strategy.

Acomprehensive examination of urban service delivery in the global South, Building a Capable State is essentialreading for practitioners of public policy as well as development students and researchersacross the social sciences.