Understanding citizens' participation in service delivery protests in South Africa's Sedibeng district municipality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss citizen participation in public service delivery protests in the Sedibeng district municipality of South Africa. The municipality consists of three local municipalities: Lesedi, Emfuleni and Midvaal. Design/methodology/approach – A structured sample of 1,000 respondents was used in the study. The descriptive and inferential statistics approaches were applied to understand the root causes of the protests. Findings – Overall, the average level of satisfaction with public service delivery is quite low. Service delivery protest participants opine that doing so is the only way of getting things done in the municipality. The overwhelming opinion of respondents is that the councillors are unresponsive. Practical implications – Public service delivery in Sedibeng municipality must improve so that citizens' confidence in municipal governance can rise. Sedibeng municipality should urgently improve the socio-economic conditions in the communities and should prioritise crime prevention, job creation and development for young people. Health care delivery is important to long-term residents. Government should ensure that all allegations of corruption and maladministration are speedily and transparently dealt with, without fear or favour. Originality/value – Studies that provide insight into citizen participation in public services delivery protests in Africa are very few and so this study makes an important contribution to our understanding of this important field.