The struggle for housing and basic services in South Africa: a case for service delivery protests

This paper examines how struggles for housing and other basic services such as water and electricity are characterised in South Africa. There has been a shift in categorising local protests from the previously accepted “service delivery protests” to other phrases such as “local political protests” or “local protests” or “community protests.” Drawing from data gathered through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions in Gugulethu and Khayelitsha, two townships in Cape Town, South Africa, I argue that these new concepts conceal the service delivery-related challenges faced by poor communities throughout South Africa. The paper’s focus on housing stems from the fact that a house often functions as a site where several services come together. While protests are nuanced and have varying reasons, they have a large service delivery component. As such, the study of protest in South Africa will benefit from research that spotlights service delivery problems. This also helps to highlight the prevalence of such protests throughout the country.