Book review: Building a capable state: service delivery in post-apartheid South Africa

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Date

2019

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

SAGE

Abstract

Written by long-standing research practitioners Ian Palmer and Nishendra Moodley, as well as one of South Africa’s leading academic urbanists, Professor Sue Parnell, Building a Capable State tackles the hard question of whether the post-apartheid state is up to delivering rights-based, sustainable development, and more specifically the task of providing local services like water, electricity, roads and housing. Somewhat surprisingly, after 10 years of maladministration and even deliberate sabotage under the Zuma administration, the answer is a qualified yes. Today South Africa’s citizens, especially poor citizens, are substantially better off than they were in 1994.

Description

Keywords

South Africa, Post-apartheid, Service delivery, Citizenship, Local governance

Citation

Piper, L. (2019). Book review: Building a capable state: service delivery in post-apartheid South Africa. Urban Studies ,56(9), 1920-1922