Image Source: Business Report
Local – As South Africa heads into local government elections, service delivery has emerged as a critical concern for voters across Gauteng. From prolonged power outages to water shortages, residents are grappling with infrastructure failures that have left communities frustrated and searching for solutions.
In Johannesburg’s Northriding suburb, the garbage collection crisis has become particularly acute, with residents enduring weeks without waste removal.
However, rather than simply complaining, the Northriding Residents Association (NRA) has mobilised to address these challenges through community-driven initiatives and strategic advocacy.
Bizani Meyiwa, a volunteer community organiser with the NRA, explained how the organisation maintains community morale while working behind the scenes.
The association has adopted a strategic approach that includes amplifying residents’ concerns through media engagement to increase public pressure on decision-makers.
This visibility strategy aims to ensure municipal stakeholders cannot ignore the mounting service delivery crisis affecting Northriding residents. By creating a broader spotlight on the issues, the NRA hopes to force authorities to take definitive action.
“We try to encourage people that they should not lose heart or be discouraged, and we try to work behind the scenes,” Meyiwa said.
“Our chairperson went out and spoke to [media] so that more people get to see it and there’s a bigger spotlight and more people get to see it and therefore put pressure on the right people, the stakeholders, to make definitive decisions.”
Mobilising Through Multiple Platforms
The association uses WhatsApp groups and social media to monitor community concerns and coordinate responses. This multi-channel strategy combines engagement with local councillors and direct community action, moving beyond traditional advocacy routes.
Rather than waiting for authorities to respond, the NRA has taken initiative by organising practical interventions.
The shift from passive complaint to active participation represents a new approach to addressing municipal service failures, with residents taking ownership of their community’s well-being.
“We took an active role in trying to clean up our community and be active and be out there as much as possible,” Meyiwa said, referencing an upcoming community cleanup scheduled for February 7th.
The volunteer acknowledged the delicate balance required when frustrations escalate, particularly after two waste-collection trucks were burned during protests.
The NRA prioritises working through established channels while maintaining pressure on authorities, using documented complaints to demonstrate the widespread impact of service delivery failures.
