South Africa has high levels of protest. Protest actions are frequently linked to demands for �service delivery�, specifically the lack of access to housing, water and electricity in poor neighbourhoods. As a result, residents in these areas have resorted to informal, self-service provision in the form of illegal water and electricity connections. These self-services have assumed two narratives: the first, in official circles, as criminalised activities; and the second, by protestors and social movements, as gaining basic social rights. This article examines the various methods of �illegal� water and electricity connections in the township of Umlazi, situated in Durban, South Africa. It draws on �counter conduct� to understand illegal connections as �diffuse and subdued forms of resistance�. Techniques of counter conduct by Umlazi residents resist both forms and quantities of service provision through the act of self-connecting. Self-connections use the government�s own techniques against it while adopting its own governmentality. The article is based on a qualitative study comprising interviews with householders of Emhlabeni, Umlazi Section D.
Provider perspectives on contraceptive service delivery: findings from a qualitative study in Johannesburg, South Africa
