JOHANNESBURG - For many South Africans, reporting poor service delivery to the relevant authorities has become second nature.
Whether it’s reporting potholes, water outages, electricity failures or crumbling infrastructure, residents are actively trying to log complaints through municipal hotlines, websites and social media.
Yet, in many instances, those complaints rarely lead to action.
A recent study has found that the problem is not that people are failing to report service delivery issues, but rather that government is failing to respond effectively.
According to research led by governance and public policy researcher Dr Lesedi Senamele Matlala, citizens have access to numerous channels through which they can report service delivery problems.
READ | Poor financial management directly affects service delivery - MEC Dunga
Matlala said that since the introduction of the Citizen-Based Monitoring Framework in 2013, government has created opportunities for public participation. However, he believes there remains a disconnect between citizens reporting problems and government responding to them.
He argues that the breakdown lies within government’s institutional systems because, while complaints are logged, they are often not incorporated into planning and budgeting processes.
“If people are complaining about potholes, and on your next budget, you don't have anything that has to do with potholes, it shows that you are not really planning on dealing with things that people are actually crying about on the ground. That's where the issue is right now," he explained
Matlala said South Africa can learn practical lessons from other countries on how to ensure citizen complaints lead to meaningful government action.
He pointed to digital platforms that provide real-time updates, allowing residents to track a complaint from the moment it is logged and processed to when it is assigned, attended to and resolved.
READ | Frustrated Durban residents could withhold votes because of service delivery
According to Matlala, this level of transparency gives citizens confidence that the issues they report will eventually be addressed.
But transparency is key.
“You cannot put a complaint about something and not see exactly how it's escalating throughout government systems.
“That's where people should start. If you are a member of a certain municipality and there is an app for that respective municipality, you should see exactly when these complaints have been reported, when they've been logged, when they've been allocated to relevant authorities and when they have also been resolved.
“I think that is what is missing so far, and that we can learn from other countries as well."