The devolution of health services at Pixley Ka Seme district municipality in Northern Cape Province, South Africa

Abstract

This policy and practice note analyses the provision and implementation of municipal health services since decentralisation in South Africa, through a case study of Pixley Ka Seme District Municipality in Northern Cape Province. The purpose of the study was to determine whether municipalities are able to render the services they are tasked with since decentralisation was implemented. The findings are broadly positive, although concerns remain about the adequacy of both funding and enforcement powers to discharge the municipality’s environmental health mandate. The paper concludes that all spheres of government should collaborate – and also engage with other stakeholders such as the private sector, community-based organisations, community members and political leadership – to ensure that the function is implemented in line with national regulations.