Social contract: Raw deal for citizens

South Africans are doing more than ever, so why does the system feel like it's doing less?

- Otshepeng Mazibuko

Mismatch: There is a widening gap between what the public is expected to do and what the government is held accountable for delivering.

South Africans are no strangers to responsibility. Citizens are conserving water, installing solar panels, organising refuse collections, banding together to protect community assets and even repairing basic infrastructure with their own labour and funds.

Yet while individual and community efforts have multiplied, the systems meant to support and respond to citizen needs have not kept pace. Instead, there is a widening gap between what the public is expected to do and what government is held accountable for delivering.

The gap is not abstract. It shows up in potholes that swallow cars, in sewer overflows that run unchecked, in sporadic electricity and water supply where self-provision becomes the norm and in rising municipal tariffs that seem to buy less service every month. A retired South African recently shared how his municipal bill climbed from about R6 500 to nearly R7 500 without any improvement in services, even as potholes, outages and refuse issues persist.

Over decades, the social contract in South Africa has been clear: citizens pay rates and taxes and the government delivers basic services, from clean water and electricity to waste removal and road maintenance.