November 2005

Delivering Municipal Services: Socio-Economic Rights and Outsourcing Options.

This seminar was held on 11 November 2005 at the University of the Western Cape. Download the Seminar report.

For queries/ comments on the Report, contact Reuben Baatjies rbaatjies@uwc.ac.za or Coel Kirkby ckirby@uwc.ac.za


October 2005

Delivering Municipal Services: Socio-Economic Rights and Outsourcing Options.

This seminar will be held on 11 November 2005 at the University of the Western Cape.

Download seminar information
Download draft programme


March 2005

Water Delivery in South Africa and the Netherlands: Public or Private?

This Seminar was held on the 7 and 8 March 2005 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. It was hosted by the Institute of Constitutional and Administrative Law and was officially opened on behalf of the Ambassador of South Africa to the Netherlands. Download the Seminar Report.

For details on the Report, please contact Dr Jaap De Visser


October 2004

Out-sourcing/ Privatisation of Basic Services at the Local Government Level in SA: Democracy, Human Rights Norms and Good Governance Principles

On the 22 October 2004 the Socio-Economic Rights Project and the Local Government Project co-hosted the above referenced Seminar. The Seminar attracted participants from civil society organisations, academics and members of the private sector.

The main objective was to share experiences on the impact of privatization on the delivery of public services in South Africa. The workshop was also aimed at identifying areas of further research and recommendations. In addition to focusing on the processes of privatisation against the background of the law, the workshop considered the impact of privatisation on the enjoyment of the right to water. This was, among others, based on a report of a case study carried out in two Eastern Cape towns of Lukhanji and Amahlati. The report, which was presented at the workshop, disclosed that efforts by local authorities to contain the costs of water delivery were being affected by the wide spread poverty caused mostly by unemployment. There is evidence of the willingness of the people to pay versus poverty and unemployment. The report also disclosed that the municipal's financial resources were being strained by their financial commitment under the service provision contracts. This has forced the municipalities to adopt rigorous debt recovery methods, including pre-paid meters and water restrictors, which is greatly affecting the people's access to water.

The report is available here...

The Seminar considered what were referred to as "drivers and dangers" of privatization. It emerged from the workshop that most of the service provision contracts were inaccessible to the people. They are drafted in a very legalistic manner, are bulky, complex and leave many issues untied.

Some areas for further research were identified, these included:

• The basic free water: basis of minimum prescription, adequacy and impact of providing water to the rich as well;

• The legality and impact of "cutting" electricity for water debts;

• The need and possibility of the Constitutional Court re-visiting its approach to the minimum core obligation;

• The need for more quantitative studies;

• The legality and impact of water restrictors on the enjoyment of the right to water; and

• Impact of nature of service provision contracts on their implementation

October 2003

Privatisation of Basic Services, Democracy & Human Rights

The seminar brought together a range of national and international participants working in the area of the privatisation of basic services. The purpose of the seminar was to provide a forum for:

• Sharing international and South African perspectives and experiences on the privatisation of basic services;

• Exploring the link between privatisation, human rights and the democratic norms of public participation and access to information;

• Exploring the implications of human rights and democratic norms for law and policy reform relating to the privatisation of basic services; and
• Identifying areas for further research.

Click here for the Programme and the Seminar Report