The most visible rewards of years of fiscal discipline are the reduced government debt burden, the concomitant reduction in government debt service costs, and the steadily declining fiscal deficit. Increased spending on social services and development will be largely negated if the money fails to reach poor people, particularly those in the rural areas.
Administrative inefficiency remains a serious obstacle.
Government departments still labour under the problem of incapacity. As Water Affairs Minister Ronnie Kasrils makes clear, the ANC government is banking on the new local government councils playing a central role in the efficient delivery of services. Whether the restructured councils will succeed where the old councils failed is uncertain.