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<p>Persistent service delivery protests continue to shape the post-apartheid urban landscape in South Africa, particularly within informal settlements. In Cape Town, sanitation provision remains a highly contested issue, with community-based activists and residents playing a central role in demanding change. This article examines how political, social, and cultural dynamics influence sanitation delivery in the informal settlements of Khayelitsha. Drawing on qualitative data from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant engagements with 35 participants, including municipal officials, community activists, and residents, the study shows that sanitation delivery is deeply embedded in a volatile political terrain, characterised by leadership struggles, party-political tensions, safety risks, and spatial constraints. The analysis employs urban political ecology and critical urban governance theory to interrogate how power relations, governance fragmentation, and mistrust between communities and the state shape service delivery outcomes. The findings reveal that sanitation provision is not just a technical or infrastructural issue, but one entangled with historical marginalisation, spatial inequality, and political contestation. The paper argues for planning and implementation processes that recognise these intersecting dynamics and advance inclusive, accountable, and cooperative governance approaches. Meaningful engagement with informal settlement residents is essential to overcoming systemic barriers and building more sustainable sanitation systems.</p>

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Contested Urban Sanitation: The Politics of Provision in Cape Town’s Informal Settlements

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2025年10月6日

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  • Alex Kihehere Mukiga

摘要

Persistent service delivery protests continue to shape the post-apartheid urban landscape in South Africa, particularly within informal settlements. In Cape Town, sanitation provision remains a highly contested issue, with community-based activists and residents playing a central role in demanding change. This article examines how political, social, and cultural dynamics influence sanitation delivery in the informal settlements of Khayelitsha. Drawing on qualitative data from in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and key informant engagements with 35 participants, including municipal officials, community activists, and residents, the study shows that sanitation delivery is deeply embedded in a volatile political terrain, characterised by leadership struggles, party-political tensions, safety risks, and spatial constraints. The analysis employs urban political ecology and critical urban governance theory to interrogate how power relations, governance fragmentation, and mistrust between communities and the state shape service delivery outcomes. The findings reveal that sanitation provision is not just a technical or infrastructural issue, but one entangled with historical marginalisation, spatial inequality, and political contestation. The paper argues for planning and implementation processes that recognise these intersecting dynamics and advance inclusive, accountable, and cooperative governance approaches. Meaningful engagement with informal settlement residents is essential to overcoming systemic barriers and building more sustainable sanitation systems.