When law struggles to deliver: Reflections on service delivery law reform in South Africa, 1996–2024

This contribution reflects on service delivery law reform in post-apartheid South Africa, focusing on the expectations that were cemented in law for local government.This reflection is offered in the context of the current widespread service delivery challenges and the absence of consequence management in local government.We comment on the possible reasons why the legal framework struggles to deliver on the original policy vision of 'developmental local government' which was envisaged in the late 1990s to deliver fair, sustainable and equal future access to services of a high quality.