Overview

This is the first book in South Africa - and internationally - to bring together a theoretical and empirical review of the impact of cost recovery on basic municipal services such as water and electricity. There has been a dramatic shift worldwide from welfare municipalism to a neoliberal vision of balanced budgets and fiscal restraint. Cost recovery is at the heart of this new municipal vision with far reaching implications for access to services, affordability and privatization. The book describes the theory and practice of cost recovery and lays out the conceptual framework for six case studies. The book offers two distinct sets of alternative possibilities. The first are reformist in nature, arguing for more equity-oriented models of cost recovery. The second are more radical and explore ways of reversing the insidious effects of commodification, the role of the market in shaping the moral and economic fabric of service delivery, and the way we ""value"" essential goods such as water. This book will be of interest both theoretically and empirically to anyone interested in local governance, service delivery, public goods and social movements.

Full Product Details

Author:   David A. McDonald ,  John Pape
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Zed Books Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 17.00cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 24.80cm
Weight:   0.370kg
ISBN:  

9781842773314

ISBN 10:   1842773313
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   01 January 2003
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

"Preface - Dennis Brutus Introduction - David McDonald and John Pape 1. The Theory and Practice of Cost Recovery in South Africa - David McDonald 2. Debt and Disconnection: The Case of Fort Beaufort, Queenstown and Stutterheim - Gregory Ruiters 3. ""Massive Cutoffs"":Cost Recovery and Electricity Service in Diepkloof, Soweto - Grace Khunou 4. Cost Recovery and Pre-paid Water Meters and the Cholera Outbreak in KwaZulu Natal: A Case Study in Madlebe - Hameda Deedat and Eddie Cottle 5. ""They are Killing us Alive"": A Case Study of the Impact of Cost Recovery on Service Provision in Makhaza Section, Khayelitsha - Mthetho Xali 6. The Struggle Against Encroachment: Constantia and the Defence of White Privilege in the ""New"" South Africa - John Pape 7. Viva Prepaids, Viva! Assessing New Technology for Cost Recovery in the Rural Northern Cape - Hameda Deedat 8. The Bell Tolls for Thee: Cost Recovery, Cutoffs and the Affordability of Municipal Services in South Africa - David McDonald 9. Looking for an alternative to cost recovery - John Pape Index"

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Author Information

David A. McDonald is the Director of the Development Studies programme at Queen's University in Canada, and Co-Director of the Municipal Services Project. John Pape is the Co-Director of the International Labour Resource and Information Group (ILRIG) at the University of Cape Town.

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