Sample Essay On South Africa State Service Delivery

South Africa State Service Delivery

Introduction
Before the year 1994, most communities in South Africa never understood the worth of public service, this is because the system of governance by then favored a few minorities. The state offered services or rather public services that were of varied nature, and they included housing services, transport services, education, health and various social services (Hoexter, 2012). The services mentioned earlier should be offered without biases for them to be fully considered as state services. State services are, for this reason, public service offered to all citizens on an equitable basis. With reference to The White Paper on Transforming Public Service Delivery of 1997, state services were to be improved on if the imbalance of the past were addressed (Hoexter, 2012). Democratic values are core in improving equitability in public service; this is well elaborated in The Constitution of South Africa 1996, Section 195(1) (d) (Hoexter, 2012). In regard to the Constitution, state offered services are supposed to be fair, impartial and equitable. State services are services offered to the people by their government though this is not always the case. The paper intends to state service delivery and the people’s capacity to challenge the process through legal actions.
The people are the government clients; for this reason, state service delivery is the provision of state initiated services to its citizens. The services that the state offers to its people include public goods and public service. In addition, the state involves itself in service delivery so as to better the welfare of its citizens (Hoexter, 2012). The state is indebted to provide this service because the people pay for them through taxation. If the state or its servant fails, the Administrative Act of 2000 should be the reference as to what action should be taken (Plasket, 2002).
Looking at the current state of affairs in South Africa public service, there are several occasions where the government has completely failed in delivering to its citizens. The poor conditions in most middle-level schools are but among the examples that the government has failed to deliver its mandate as stated in the Constitution. Mkanzini School is a very good example, the rooftops are leaking, the floor is muddy, and student from different grades placed in the same class and its gets very hot when sunny (Z Lightfoot, 2015) is. As per the named conditions, normal learning cannot take place. The second's instance is the Kya Sands protest; this is an organized protest to detest poor service delivery that had experienced for a long time in government institutions (Daily Sun, 2015). The last example that shows the government has failed in service delivery is the airport protest (E News, 2015). The question is how can the people make the government deliver the obligated services without compromising, is it through protest or through filing a court case? The Administrative Justice Act no. 3 0f 2000 was created to help the public claim their denied rights, thus, this answers the questions (Plasket, 2002).
Dealing with matters concerning state service delivery can be difficult if the right channels are not followed. Though most of the time people resort to the public demonstration or mass protest like the previously given cases, the best channel is to go the court way. Taking the court case in Eastern Cape, despite the cases against public services laxity were countless, the judges have tried whatever in their mandate to assist the public. The best case that can act as an example is the Ndevu vs. Member of the Executive Council for Welfare (Vumazonke 2005). It is among the 27cases where the people come out to challenge the state public service delivery woes. It is commented in the case that Ndevu found it obligatory to turn to the court since the public authorities had failed to carry out their duty as required by the law (Vumazonke 2005). One might argue that court cases do end in court, but the scenario is different. The occurrence of such cases in Eastern Cape courts raised the concern of the concerned bodies (Vumazonke 2005). The government will be burdened by continuous public outcry for efficacy through its legal arm and hence will be forced to crack a whip on the sleeping public servants. The pressure will ensure that Administrative Justice Act is allowed to take its cause.
Demonstration and protest are also an alternative way of showing dissatisfaction with the state of affair; sometimes it ends in a way that does not please the concerned parties (PN Mfene, 2009). Creation of Justice Act, no. 3 in 2000 was to help the public claim their rights (Plasket, 2002). Inefficiency in public service is a major issue that cannot be only handled by wild demonstration like the airport protest, but through the Administrative Justice Act of 2000 which can play a critical role in mitigating negligence (Plasket, 2002). Referring to apartheid case, demonstration did not bring equality, but court cases and dialogue worked it out (PN Mfene, 2009). This is why people should always challenge the concerned authorities on the use of the 2000 Administrative Justice Act no. 3.
Conclusion

References

Daily Sun SA 'Kya Sands service delivery protest' 26 March 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbWVDIXB1II\ (accessed 22 January 2015)
E News Channel Africa 'Airport faeces culprits face court action' 1 July 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGsowWBRVcw(accessed 21 January 2015)
Hoexter, C. (2012). Administrative Law in South Africa. Juta and Company Ltd.
Plasket, C. (2002). Exhaustion of Internal Remedies and Section 7 (2) of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act 3 of 2000, The. S. African LJ, 119, 50.
PN Mfene ‘A service delivery perspective on public administration’ (2009) 44 Journal of Public Administration 209.
Vumazonke v MEC for Social Development, Eastern Cape 2005 (6) SA 229 (SE)
Z Lightfoot & D Lightfoot 'South Africa: The case for minimum norms & standards in school infrastructure' 19 July 2013https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjZB2ldaRlc (accessed 22 January 2015)