The advent of a political democracy in South Africa in 1994 generated hope for a better life for all South Africans especially those marginalised during the apartheid era. The newly formed democratic government was confronted with the mammoth task of expounding and decreeing policies and processes that would warrant equality and equity in the provision of basic services to its citizens. Local government being the third sphere of government and which is closest to the people was entrusted with the responsibility of rendering basic services to its people as well as to address the backlogs that have accumulated during the apartheid era as depicted in the 1996 Constitution. Despite the efforts made by government to meet the requirements of the people in providing them with adequate basic services such as clean water, electricity, roads housing and refuse removal, these services were either not provided at all or it was done at a snail‟s pace. This led to widespread service delivery protests. In light of the above, this empirical study investigates the causes of the service delivery protests in City of Johannesburg (CoJ) from 2009 until 2014. Numerous studies have been pursued to examine the reasons and causes for service delivery protests and the conclusions derived is the slow pace of providing electricity, water and sanitation to the local communities. It therefore can be deduced that no democracy can subsist and prosper if citizens are still living in deprivation and in a state of discrimination and unemployment without them having visions for a better life. The manifestation of service delivery protests is thus a risk to South Africa‟s young democracy and its sustainability, which cannot be ignored. The findings of this study clearly revealed that communities in the CoJ are discontented and disgruntled because of, amongst other things, the lack of delivery of basic services, the deployment of cadres to municipal management positions, the abuse of the tendering system, nepotism and favouritism, which have negatively affected service delivery. / Public Administration and Management / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

Gegenstand der Dissertation ist die Verantwortung der Kommunen für die Versorgung der örtlichen Bevölkerung mit Elektrizität: Woraus kann sie hergeleitet werden, welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich aus ihr für die Kommunen und welche Bedeutung kommt hierbei der Kooperation mit der Privatwirtschaft zu? Die in drei Teile gegliederte Arbeit befasst sich in ihrem ersten Teil mit den allgemeinen Grundlagen und der Entwicklung kommunaler Elektrizitätsversorgungsunternehmen. Im zweiten Teil geht es um die gesetzlichen Zielvorgaben in der Elektrizitätswirtschaft und die kommunale Verantwortung für ihr Erreichen. Der dritte Teil schließlich befasst sich mit den Voraussetzungen kooperativer Staatstätigkeit und dem Potenzial der Anwendung von Kooperationsmodellen im Bereich der örtlichen Elektrizitätsversorgung. / The dissertation ist focused on the responsibility of municipalities to supply local populations with electricity: Where can it be derived from, what consequences for municipalities arise from it and what role does the cooperation with private sector have in this context? The thesis is divided into three parts; the first part deals with the basic principles and the development of municipal electric utilities. The second part focuses on both statutory normative targets in the electricity supply industry and the municipality's responsibility to achieve them. Finally, the third part discusses the preconditions of cooperative government activity and the potential of cooperation models for application to local power supply.

Gegenstand der Dissertation ist die Verantwortung der Kommunen für die Versorgung der örtlichen Bevölkerung mit Elektrizität: Woraus kann sie hergeleitet werden, welche Konsequenzen ergeben sich aus ihr für die Kommunen und welche Bedeutung kommt hierbei der Kooperation mit der Privatwirtschaft zu? Die in drei Teile gegliederte Arbeit befasst sich in ihrem ersten Teil mit den allgemeinen Grundlagen und der Entwicklung kommunaler Elektrizitätsversorgungsunternehmen. Im zweiten Teil geht es um die gesetzlichen Zielvorgaben in der Elektrizitätswirtschaft und die kommunale Verantwortung für ihr Erreichen. Der dritte Teil schließlich befasst sich mit den Voraussetzungen kooperativer Staatstätigkeit und dem Potenzial der Anwendung von Kooperationsmodellen im Bereich der örtlichen Elektrizitätsversorgung. / The dissertation ist focused on the responsibility of municipalities to supply local populations with electricity: Where can it be derived from, what consequences for municipalities arise from it and what role does the cooperation with private sector have in this context? The thesis is divided into three parts; the first part deals with the basic principles and the development of municipal electric utilities. The second part focuses on both statutory normative targets in the electricity supply industry and the municipality's responsibility to achieve them. Finally, the third part discusses the preconditions of cooperative government activity and the potential of cooperation models for application to local power supply.