Anti-privatisation in South Africa
Country: South Africa |Â Partner: Anti-Privatisation Forum
Aims
- To resist the privatisation of services and address the needs of the urban poor
- To raise awareness of the negative impact of privatisation on the poor within South Africa and abroad
- To bring together poor communities to organise joint activities and demand changes in policy and practice
Successes
- Successfully lobbied the government to provide a quota of free water and electricity to the poor
- Other successful campaigns have resulted in increased financial support for the development of infrastructure, improvements in service provision, a moratorium on mass electricity cut-offs and the scaling back of evictions in numerous poor communities
- An APF resource centre has been established with books, magazines and multimedia technology to provide communities with the information and resources they need to engage in the public services debate
- APF holds regular workshops on leadership training (particularly with women), local government legislation, macro-economic conditions, basic services, housing provision, and tariffs for basic services
The facts
- Unemployment in South Africa is estimated at a staggering 40%
- South Africa is the second most unequal country in the world
- Over 30% of South Africans do not have access to electricity whilst 39% do not have access to water
- Cost-recovery policies for public services provision have had devastating consequences for poor people, who can no longer afford to pay for them, even if the service infrastructure reaches them
Working with the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF), War on Want aims to support and strengthen new and emerging community organisations that are mobilising to prevent the negative impacts of privatisation of public services on the poor.
The privatisation and commoditisation of basic services in South Africa (water, electricity, healthcare, housing and education) is resulting in reduced access to these services and increasing impoverishment for South Africa's poorest communities. It is compounding poverty and inequality in a country already ranked as the second most unequal in the world.
The constitution adopted by the South African government in 1996 is one of the most progressive in the world. It states that "everyone has the right to ... adequate housing ... healthcare ... food and water ... [and] to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being".
However, despite constitutional pledges, the legacy of apartheid persists: it is estimated that 30% of South Africans do not have basic access to electricity and 39% to water.
Privatisation of water and electricity has led to huge price rises in these services in recent years, and services are often cut off completely
| Anti-Privatisation Forum |
War on Want supports APF's programmes which provide community organisations with training on how to fight privatisation processes that negatively impact on the poor. These programmes also help co-ordinate the actions of community organisations on local and national levels.
Internationally, APF links communities organising around anti-privatisation struggles so they can share and learn from each other's experiences, and develop global strategies for action.
