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What's trust got to do with it? Non-payment of service charges in local authorities in South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2004

Odd-Helge Fjeldstad
Odd-Helge Fjeldstad
Affiliation:
Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway.
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Abstract

A major financial problem in many municipalities in South Africa is the inadequate collection of service charges due to widespread non-payment. The prevailing view is that non-compliance is caused by poverty and the existence of an ‘entitlement culture’. However, huge variations in compliance exist both within poor communities and between communities with similar socio-economic characteristics. How can these differences be explained? Moreover, what factors determine citizens' compliance? This paper argues that non-payment is related not only to inability to pay and ‘a culture of entitlement’, but also to whether citizens perceive the local government to act in their interest. In particular, three dimensions of trust may affect citizens' compliance: (1) trust in the local government to use revenues to provide expected services; (2) trust in the authorities to establish fair procedures for revenue collection and distribution of services; and (3) trust in other citizens to pay their share.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , December 2004 , pp. 539 - 562
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

This article was prepared with financial support from the Norwegian Council for Higher Education's Programme for Development Research and Education (NUFU); and NORAD through the Collaborative Agreement between CMI and the School of Government, University of the Western Cape. I would like to thank Tina Turner for inspiring the title, and Steinar Askvik, Nelleke Bak, Thorvald Gran, Tor Halvorsen, Jan Isaksen, Dele Olowu, Lise Rakner, Theunis Roux, Marit Strand, Tina Søreide, Bertil Tungodden and two anonymous referees, for constructive comments on earlier drafts.