Impacts of Poor Basic Service Delivery on the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements and Improved Livelihoods: Case of Stjwetla, Alexandra

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa acknowledges the importance of basic service delivery in the development and improvement of lives, thus making it the government’s mandate.

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa acknowledges the importance of basic service delivery in the development and improvement of lives, thus making it the government’s mandate. With access to basic services being a legitimate expectation of citizens, the government is responsible for ensuring that it provides continuous service delivery and maintenance to its people. Service delivery enables individuals to meet their own needs by providing the security necessary for a household to function fully, and it is a prerequisite for poverty reduction. Despite the well-known benefits of providing basic services, delivery challenges persist, particularly in informal settlements. Informal settlements fall outside the regulated, legal, planned channels of city development; they therefore receive little government attention. The lack of government support for informal settlements is a barrier to improving basic services and infrastructure.