By the end of the case clinic, participants should be able to interpret the systemic challenges outlined in the case, relate relevant theoretical perspectives to the narrative, incorporate their own experiences, and be in a position to develop creative and applicable solutions to the issues in their own work environment.

The key issue to be addressed in this study is how democratic governance and development can be improved. The theoretical foundations in this study relate to the subsidiarity principle, which is employed here to explain the deployment of functions and responsibilities for effective democratic governance at the local level.

The facilitator guide to the teaching and learning case is designed to support NSG facilitators to guide participating learners in building critical thinking skills and actionable knowledge that are fundamental to effective service delivery at all levels of governance and public management.

The purpose of this contribution is therefore to draw lessons from what has since been termed the ‘social grant crisis’ using two theoretical lenses; that is, accountability and governance theories.

The researched case study forms the basis of the facilitated learning process. Although the case study focuses primarily on the circumstances that led to the water crisis in Emfuleni, an area of the Vaal in Gauteng Province, South Africa, the lessons derived from the story can be applied to a variety of public service administration circumstances.

Emfuleni Local Municipality was at the centre of an environmental health disaster in mid-2018 when vast amounts of raw sewage flowed into the Vaal River Barrage in Gauteng province South Africa.

South Africa’s 1994 transition to a non-racial democracy received international acclaim. It was a remarkable accomplishment for a country at the southern tip of Africa in a rapidly globalising world. Apartheid was put to rest after four decades of exclusive white rule. However, a quarter of a century later, the lofty ideals of the ‘Rainbow nation’, a proud country where all its people would enjoy a life of dignity, led by a caring government, in some areas remains a project under construction.