South African Water Services Authorities (WSAs) have been grappling with the challenge of providing sustainable water and sanitation services which is a product of the sector’s inadequate planning and practices systems. Consequently, many communities which are the end-users endure inadequate access to sustainable water and sanitation services. Thus, establishing effective planning mechanisms becomes crucial to ensure the provision of adequate and sustainable water and sanitation services, and this is the central problem of analysis and prescription for this paper. Notably, the paper recommends an already existing systems approach to local governance that takes advantage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to drive the modernisation of water and sanitation planning processes which are the Municipal Strategic Self-Assessment (MuSSA) and the Water Services Development Plan (WSDP). Through an emic perspective, systematic search of literature, and document analysis, this paper examines the 2022 MuSSA reports of Western Cape and Gauteng, to identify the challenges faced by the provinces. The findings reveal deficiencies in the Western Cape's investment in asset renewal, infrastructure management, reduction of non-revenue water, and adherence to national standards. Similarly, Gauteng requires comprehensive reforms to address financial instability, asset management, and regulatory compliance. The paper also examines the progress of WSDP development in the 2022-2027 cycle, specifically focusing on the 2022-2023 financial cycle to assess WSAs' compliance. Results indicate that, of 25 WSAs in the Western Cape, only 10 have initiated WSDP development, while 15 lag behind. In Gauteng, only 2 of 9 WSAs have begun the process. Notably, both provinces are behind schedule, having been expected to initiate WSDP development in 2022. The findings of this paper, give an invaluable snippet of the water services planning mechanisms at the local government to ensure proper monitoring and adequate intervention at a local level whilst ensuring the streamlining of resource allocation and recommends that the national government reflects on its shortcomings of ensuring legislative compliance by local government.

Customary governance systems constitute the main regulating system for access and harvesting mopane worms across rural communities in South Africa. Nonetheless these institutions remain at risk of erosion and fragmentation. The growing demand for and interest in entomophagy as a viable option for alternative protein. In South Africa where entomophagy is intertwined with cultures and customary traditions, the mainstreaming efforts are gaining traction in policy and the food industry, aimed at stimulating novel markets and generating income for rural communities. These seeks formalisation, scaling, and marketing of edible insects. Given that the edible insects are mainly harvested in rural communal areas, where customary governance systems are prominent, pertinent questions arise regarding the likely governance implications. The study is grounded in common pool resource theory and interactive governance theory to analyse mopane worm customary governance and institutional arrangements that regulate access and use in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Qualitative data were collected through 24 interviews with traditional leaders, harvesters, project managers, and a ward councillor across Ka-Homu and Ga-Selwane villages and analysed thematically to identify governance arrangements. The findings reveal that customary governance institutions over mopane worms are shaped and co-produced through long-standing legal pluralism relationships of responsible resource stewardship that co-exist with statutory governance systems. Our findings further show the existence of well-defined access rules, harvesting norms, graduated sanctions and multi-actor enforcement mechanisms that are consistent with Ostrom CPR design principles. With the mooted formalisation proposed in South Africa, these findings suggest that this legal pluralism if ignored, has potential to become tension point in the edible insect sector. Thus, formalisation pathways of the edible insect economy must recognise and integrate existing customary governance institutions as legitimate co-governance actors, and failure to do so may risk eroding the institutional arrangements that presently regulate resource overuse and sustain rural livelihoods.

This study examines how decentralising water resources management in South Africa has deepened inequity and inequality in water governance. Although integrated water resource management (IWRM) promotes participation, it fails to address power imbalances and historical inequalities rooted in Apartheid. This paper employs a systematic literature review and qualitative thematic analysis of 13 peer-reviewed studies, policy documents, and institutional reports published between 1998 and 2024. Using a thematic analysis approach, studies were coded according to themes of decentralisation, participation, and equity in South Africa’s water governance framework. The findings reveal that IWRM’s limited focus on social factors leads to superficial participation and worsening disparities. To address this, the study proposes ‘developmental water management’ (DWM), which combines participation, power, and equity within a developmental state framework for more inclusive water governance. The research calls for policy reforms, institutional changes, and active engagement with marginalised communities to ensure equitable water access for all.

Section 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa authorises provincial governments to intervene in municipalities that fail to fulfil their constitutional or statutory obligations. Since 2000, the application of this provision has grown substantially, yet the evidence of its effectiveness remains contested. By January 2023, at least 33 municipalities were under some form of section 139 intervention, with over 40 active interventions recorded across the country at various points. This article presents a narrative literature review of academic literature, government reports, Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) findings, and parliamentary records of 2000 to 2024. A thematic analysis framework was applied to 23 sources drawn from academic databases and grey literature. The review identifies five thematic clusters: the constitutional and legal architecture of interventions; fiscal mismanagement as the dominant trigger; administrative and institutional capacity failure; political instrumentalisation; and service delivery and accountability outcomes. The findings indicate that interventions have rarely produced durable improvements. Municipalities including Madibeng, Emfuleni, Mangaung and Maluti-a-Phofung demonstrate that structural governance failure cannot be resolved through episodic crisis management. Data from AGSA for 2023/24 confirm that approved financial recovery plans at the City of Tshwane, City of Johannesburg, and Emfuleni have not yet yielded desired results owing to inadequate monitoring. The review also finds that coalition instability in metropolitan councils since 2016 has produced a distinct form of municipal dysfunction. The article concludes with policy recommendations for pre-intervention support frameworks, administrator quality controls, strengthened oversight by the National Council of Provinces, and post-intervention capacity development.