Service Delivery Protests and Community Monitoring

I believe there is great potential for more community involvement to assure quality provision of public service in South Africa. Just look at the increasing number of public service protests all over the country. People are angry and are prepared to act. However, burning cars and throwing bricks might get government’s attention, but won’t increase nurse or teacher attendance rates. We have seen NGO’s that hold central government accountable (such as Equal Education that pressurize government spending on education), but we also need NGO’s that help citizens hold service providers accountable at a local level. 

What is needed is a more structured way to direct this growing discontent in a productive way to encourage improved service delivery.

There is growing research in economics on how community involvement can lead to improved service delivery. In health care project in Uganda, “report cards” were created on the quality of health care provision in communities. NGO’s then visited these communities, where (i) the report cards were disseminated and discussed; (ii) a “contract” was reached between community members and health care providers on how to improve health care provision; and (iii) measurable deliverables were agreed upon and a system was set up for community members to measure these deliverables. As a result of the project, health care treatment improved dramatically, leading to notable improvements in health outcomes (such as lower child mortality).